Sálmarnir 68:16

Heilögum Biblíunni

16 (68:17) Hví lítið þér, tindafjöll, öfundarauga það fjall er Guð hefir kjörið sér til bústaðar, þar sem Drottinn samt mun búa um eilífð?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Why: Psalms 114:4, Psalms 114:6, Isaiah 2:2

the hill: Psalms 132:13, Psalms 132:14, Deuteronomy 12:5, Deuteronomy 12:11, 1 Kings 9:3, Hebrews 12:22, Hebrews 12:23, Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:3

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 23:25 - that they may dwell in Jerusalem Psalms 24:3 - the hill Psalms 24:7 - shall Psalms 43:3 - thy holy Psalms 87:1 - the holy Psalms 121:1 - lift up Isaiah 2:14 - General Isaiah 12:6 - great Ezekiel 20:40 - in mine Ezekiel 34:26 - my hill Micah 4:1 - the mountain Habakkuk 3:6 - the everlasting John 14:10 - dwelleth Revelation 7:15 - dwell

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Why leap ye, ye high hills?.... Meaning the kingdoms of this world that lift up themselves above, and look with contempt upon the interest, kingdom, and church of Christ; lie in wait for it, leap upon it, insult over it, and endeavour to crush and extirpate it; but all in vain; these high hills and mountains are nothing before Zerubbabel King of saints; his church is built on a rock, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it; the little stone cut out of the mountain without hands will become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth, and break in pieces and consume the kingdoms of it: the word רצד, in, the Arabic language, signifies "to lie in wait", as Jarchi from R. Moses Hadarsan observes; and to look out, and leap upon the prey; so R. Hai in Ben Melech says, it has the signification of looking, observing, hoping, or waiting, in the Arable language k;

[this is] the hill [which] God desireth to dwell in; as in

Psalms 132:13; the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; the essential Word, the Messiah: his desire was towards his church and people, in eternity, in time, and now is; he has chosen and desired them for his habitation, and in the midst of them he delights to be, Revelation 1:13;

yea, the Lord will dwell [in it] for ever: he dwells in his church now by his gracious presence; he will dwell in the New Jerusalem church state personally for the space of a thousand years; and after that he will dwell with and among his people to all eternity; see Psalms 132:14.

k "Ratzad, insidiatus fuit, uti praedae leo", Golius, col. 991. Castel. col. 3633.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Why leap ye, ye high hills? - That is, with exultation; with pride; with conscious superiority. Why do you seem to regard yourselves as so superior to Mount Zion, in strength, in beauty, in grandeur? The Hebrew, however - רצד râtsad - rather means, “Why do ye watch insidiously? why do ye look askance at?” The word occurs only in this place. In Arabic it means to watch closely; to lie in wait for. This is the idea here. The mountains around Palestine - the mountains of the pagan world - the lofty hills - as if conscious of their grandeur, are represented as looking “askance,” in their pride, at Mount Zion; as eyeing it with silent contempt, as if it were not worthy of notice; as if it were so insignificant that it had no claim to attention. The idea is not that of “leaping,” as in our English Bible, or of “hopping,” as in the version of the Episcopal Prayer Book, but that of a look of silent disdain, as if, by their side, Zion, so insignificant, was not worthy of regard. “Perhaps,” by the high hills here, however, are disguisedly also represented the mighty powers of the pagan world, as if looking with contempt on the people of the land where Zion was the place of worship.

This is the hill which God desireth to dwell in - The hill which “he” has selected as his abode, and which “he” has honored above all the mountains of the earth, by his permanent residence there. As such, Zion has an honor above the loftiest hills and ranges of mountains in the earth.

Yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever - Permanently; he will make it his fixed habitation on earth. Not-withstanding the envy or the contempt of surrounding hills, he will make this his settled abode. He has chosen it; he delights in it; he will not forsake it for the mountains and hills that are in themselves more grand and lofty.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 68:16. Why leap ye, ye high hills? — "God said, Why leap ye, ye high hills? It is not pleasing to me to give my law upon high and towering hills. Behold, Mount Sinai is low; and the WORD of the Lord has desired to place on it the Divine majesty. Moreover, the Lord dwells for ever in the heaven of heavens." - Targum.

The psalmist is speaking particularly of the mountains of Judea, and those of Gilead; the former were occupied by the Canaanites, and the others by Og, king of Bashan, and Sihon, king of the Amorites, whom Moses defeated.