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Sunday, July 20th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Douay-Rheims Bible

Psalms 48:12

(47-13) Surround Sion, and encompass her: tell lye in her towers.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Church;   Temple;   Zion;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Cities;   Excellency and Glory of the Church, the;   Jerusalem;   Towers;   Walls;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Jerusalem;   Towers;   Zion or Sion;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Jerusalem;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Towers;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - English Versions;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Korah, Korahites;   Psalms;   Sin;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Tower;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - God;   Jerusalem;   Korah;   Psalms the book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Bible, the;   Psalms, Book of;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Go around Zion, encircle it;count its towers,
Hebrew Names Version
Walk about Tziyon, and go around her. Number the towers of it;
King James Version
Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.
English Standard Version
Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers,
New Century Version
Walk around Jerusalem and count its towers.
New English Translation
Walk around Zion! Encircle it! Count its towers!
Amplified Bible
Walk about Zion, go all around her; Count her towers,
New American Standard Bible
Walk around Zion and encircle her; Count her towers;
World English Bible
Walk about Zion, and go around her. Number the towers of it;
Geneva Bible (1587)
Compasse about Zion, and goe round about it, and tell the towres thereof.
Legacy Standard Bible
Walk about Zion and go around her;Count her towers;
Berean Standard Bible
March around Zion, encircle her, count her towers,
Contemporary English Version
Let's walk around Zion and count its towers.
Complete Jewish Bible
Let Mount Tziyon rejoice, let the daughters of Y'hudah be glad, because of your judgment [on the enemy].
Darby Translation
Walk about Zion, and go round about her: count the towers thereof;
Easy-to-Read Version
Walk around Jerusalem, and count its towers.
George Lamsa Translation
Circle Zion, and go round about her; count the towers thereof.
Good News Translation
People of God, walk around Zion and count the towers;
Lexham English Bible
Walk about Zion and circle it; count her towers.
Literal Translation
Walk around Zion; yea, go all around it; count its towers;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Walke aboute Sion, go rounde aboute her, and tell hir towres.
American Standard Version
Walk about Zion, and go round about her; Number the towers thereof;
Bible in Basic English
Make your way about Zion, and go round it, numbering its towers.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Let mount Zion be glad, let the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of Thy judgments.
King James Version (1611)
Walke about Sion, and goe round about her: tell the towres thereof.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Compasse about Sion, and go rounde about her: and tell the towres therof.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Go round about Sion, and encompass her: tell ye her towers.
English Revised Version
Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Cumpasse ye Syon, and biclippe ye it; telle ye in the touris therof.
Update Bible Version
Walk about Zion, and go round about her; Number the towers thereof;
Webster's Bible Translation
Walk about Zion, and go round her: number her towers.
New King James Version
Walk about Zion, And go all around her. Count her towers;
New Living Translation
Go, inspect the city of Jerusalem. Walk around and count the many towers.
New Life Bible
Walk in Zion, and go around her. See how many towers she has.
New Revised Standard
Walk about Zion, go all around it, count its towers,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Go round Zion, and compass her about, Reckon up her towers;
Revised Standard Version
Walk about Zion, go round about her, number her towers,
Young's Literal Translation
Compass Zion, and go round her, count her towers,
THE MESSAGE
Circle Zion, take her measure, count her fortress peaks, Gaze long at her sloping bulwark, climb her citadel heights— Then you can tell the next generation detail by detail the story of God, Our God forever, who guides us till the end of time.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Walk about Zion and go around her; Count her towers;

Contextual Overview

8 (47-9) As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God hath founded it for ever. 9 (47-10) We have received thy mercy, O God, in the midst of thy temple. 10 (47-11) According to thy name, O God, so also is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of justice. 11 (47-12) Let mount Sion rejoice, and the daughters of Juda be glad; because of thy judgments, O Lord. 12 (47-13) Surround Sion, and encompass her: tell lye in her towers. 13 (47-14) Set your hearts on her strength; and distribute her houses, that ye may relate it in another generation. 14 (47-15) For this is God, our God unto eternity, and for ever and ever: he shall rule us for evermore.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Walk: Nehemiah 12:31-40, Matthew 24:1, Matthew 24:2

tell: Isaiah 33:18-20

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 5:7 - Zion 1 Chronicles 11:5 - the castle Isaiah 26:1 - salvation Isaiah 33:20 - Look Ezekiel 21:20 - the defenced Micah 4:8 - O tower Zephaniah 1:16 - and against Zechariah 2:5 - a wall

Cross-References

Genesis 18:2
And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three men standing near to him: and as soon as he saw them, he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground.
Genesis 19:1
And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of the city. And seeing them, he rose up and went to meet them: and worshipped prostrate to the ground.
Genesis 23:7
Abraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land, to wit, the children of Heth:
Genesis 33:3
And he went forward and bowed down with his face to the ground seven times, until his brother came near.
Genesis 42:6
And Joseph was governor in the land of Egypt, and corn was sold by his direction to the people. And when his brethren had bowed down to him,
Exodus 20:12
Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayst be long lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.
Exodus 34:8
And Moses making haste, bowed down prostrate unto the earth, and adoring,
Leviticus 19:3
Let every one fear his father, and his mother. Keep my sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 19:32
Rise up before the hoary head, and honour the person of the aged man: and fear the Lord thy God. I am the Lord.
1 Kings 2:19
Then Bethsabee came to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonias: and the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne: and a throne was set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right hand.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Walk about Zion, and go round about her,.... These words are either an address to the enemies of the church, sarcastically delivered; calling upon them to come, and surround, and besiege Zion, and see what the issue and consequence of it will he, even the same as that of the kings, Psalms 48:4; or to the builders of Zion, as Jarchi observes, to come and take a survey of it, and see what repairs were necessary; or rather to the saints, to the daughters of Judah before mentioned, to take a view of the strength and defence of the church, for their own comfort and encouragement, and to report the same to others for theirs also; for by walking around it may be observed the foundation, the rock and eminence on which it is built, Christ Jesus; the wall of it, the Lord himself, a wall of fire; the entrance into it, Christ the gate of righteousness; the fortress and strong hold of it the same; and the guards about it, the watch men on its walls, the ministers of the Gospel, and an innumerable company of angels, that in a circle surround both ministers and people; see Revelation 7:11;

tell the towers thereof; see 2 Chronicles 26:9; the Lord himself is the tower of his people, high and strong, which secures and defends them from all their enemies, Psalms 18:2; the ministers of the Gospel, who are immovable, and are set for the defence of it, Jeremiah 6:27; the Scriptures of truth, which are like a tower built for an armoury, out of which the saints are furnished and provided with proper armour, whereby they are able to engage with false teachers, and to overcome the evil one, Song of Solomon 4:4; and the ordinances of the Gospel, the church's two breasts, said to be as towers, Song of Solomon 8:10; some render the words, "tell in the towers" i; publish on the house tops, declare in the high places of the city, in the most public manner, the great things of the Gospel, which relate to the glory of Christ and his church.

i מגדליה εν τοις πυργοις αυτης, Sept. "in turribus ejus", V. L.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Walk about Zion - This is a call on all persons to go round the city; to take a survey of it; to see how beautiful and how strong it was - how it had escaped all danger, and was uninjured by the attempt to destroy it - how capable it was of resisting an attack. The word “walk” here means simply to go around or surround. The other word used has a more direct reference to a solemn procession.

And go round about her - The word used here - from נקף nâqaph - to fasten together, to join together, means to move round in a circle, as if persons joined together (see the notes at Job 1:5), and would refer here properly to a solemn procession moving round the city, and taking a deliberate survey of its entire circuit.

Tell the towers thereof - That is, Take the number of the towers. See how numerous they are; how firm they remain; what a defense and protection they constitute. Cities, surrounded by walls, had always “towers” or elevated portions as posts of observation, or as places from which missiles might be discharged with advantage on those who should attempt to scale the walls. Compare Genesis 11:4-5; 2 Chronicles 26:9-10; Isaiah 2:15.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 48:12. Walk about Zion — Consider the beauty and magnificence of the temple, count the towers by which it is fortified.


 
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