1  How lovely is your ^wdwelling place,

O Lord of hosts!

2  ^xMy soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

3  Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

^ymy King and my God.

4  ^zBlessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise! Selah

5  Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.²

6  As they go through the Valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

7  They go from strength to strength;

each one ^aappears before God in Zion.

8  O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

9  Behold our shield, O God;

look on the face of your ^banointed!

10  ^cFor a day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11  For the Lord God is a ^dsun and ^eshield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor.

^fNo good thing does he withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

12  O Lord of hosts,

blessed is the one who ^gtrusts in you!