1 To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a verypresenthelp in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountainsshake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that rightearly.
6 The heathenraged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earthmelted.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
8Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
World Behind This Chapter
Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Psalms 46.
QUESTIONS WORTH EXPLORING
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What stands out about God as refuge amid collapsing earth in Psalm 46?
Psalm 46 builds its movement around God as refuge amid collapsing earth, roaring waters, nations, and a river-city. Tracking repeated words, parallel lines, changes of speaker, and image clusters shows how the poem develops before assigning a later interpretation.
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What world does Psalm 46 ask the reader to picture?
The poem evokes city of god amid cosmic waters. Those settings may be literal, remembered, ritual, or metaphorical; distinguishing those possibilities is part of reading Hebrew poetry carefully.
⌘Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter2
Explains how water from the Gihon Spring was carried through Jerusalem's underground systems to the Siloam Pool. Although Psalm 46's river is poetic and Jerusalem had no large natural river, the archaeology helps readers understand why secure water access mattered profoundly to a fortified ancient city.
Scholarly abstract connecting Psalm 46's collapsing earth, roaring waters, warring nations, divine voice, and city imagery with Israel's creation traditions, the Song of the Sea, First Isaiah, and possibly the Assyrian crisis surrounding Jerusalem.
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