1 For the music director, according to the gittith style; written by the Korahites, a psalm. How lovely is the place where you live, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies! 2 I desperately want to be in the courts of the Lord’s temple. My heart and my entire being shout for joy to the living God.⁠a 3 Even the birds find a home there, and the swallow builds a nest where she can protect her young near your altars, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God. 4 How blessed are those who live in your temple and praise you continually. (Selah) 5 How blessed are those who find their strength in you and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple. 6 As they pass through the Baca Valley, he provides a spring for them. The rain even covers it with pools of water. 7 They are sustained as they travel along; each one appears before God in Zion. 8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, O God of Jacob. (Selah) 9 O God, take notice of our shield. Show concern for your chosen king. 10 Certainly spending just one day in your temple courts is better than spending a thousand elsewhere. I would rather stand at the entrance to the temple of my God than live in the tents of the wicked. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and a shield²⁶.⁠b The Lord bestows favor and honor; he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. 12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, how blessed are those who trust in you.