Read
Psalm 87:6
The LORD will count, when he writes up the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah.
4I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me. Behold, Philistia, Tyre, and also Ethiopia: “This one was born there.”
5Yes, of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one was born in her;” the Most High himself will establish her.
6The LORD will count, when he writes up the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah.
7Those who sing as well as those who dance say, “All my springs are in you.”
Notice
YHWH’s record of the peoples narrows to one person's birthplace, making belonging in Zion a matter of his declaration.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What stands out to you about YHWH himself keeping this record of the peoples?
Write on thisHow does the naming of Babylon and Ethiopia shape your reading of who belongs in Zion?
Write on thisWhat difference might God's authority to declare belonging make to how you view your own background?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Isaiah 4:3It will happen that he who is left in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy, even everyone who is written among the living in Jerusalem,Both passages connect Zion with a written record of people who belong there.
Ezekiel 13:9“My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who utter lying divinations. They will not be in the council of my people, neither will they be …Both describe a record of belonging among God's people; Ezekiel declares that prophets speaking lies will be excluded from that record.
Luke 10:20Nevertheless, don’t rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”Both connect belonging with a written record: the LORD records the peoples in the psalm, and Jesus speaks of names written in heaven.
Revelation 20:15If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.Both describe a written record concerning people; Revelation adds the judgment of those absent from the book of life.
Romans 9:8That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as heirs.Both passages speak of people being counted as belonging, though Romans names the promise and the psalm names Zion.
Psalm 69:28Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous.Both use a written record to describe belonging; Psalm 69 asks for people to be excluded from the record of the righteous.
Philippians 4:3Yes, I beg you also, true partner, help these women, for they labored with me in the Good News with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose …Both describe people recorded as belonging, with Philippians naming fellow workers whose names are in the book of life.
Psalm 22:30Posterity shall serve him. Future generations shall be told about the Lord.The shared thread is people in relation to the Lord: Psalm 22 describes future service, while Psalm 87 describes his count.
Revelation 13:8All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has …Both speak of people being recorded; Revelation identifies its record as the book of life of the Lamb who was killed.
Jeremiah 3:19“But I said, ‘How I desire to put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the armies of the nations!’ and I said, ‘You shall …Both portray God declaring belonging: birth in Zion in the psalm, and a place among the children in Jeremiah.
Numbers 3:40The LORD said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.Counting people links these passages: the LORD counts the peoples in the psalm and commands Moses to count Israel's firstborn males.
Ezekiel 9:4The LORD said to him, “Go through the middle of the city, through the middle of Jerusalem, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry …Both portray the LORD identifying particular people in Zion or Jerusalem, through a written record in the psalm and a mark in Ezekiel.
Where this verse fits
Loneliness. praise and worship. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
YHWH keeps Zion's record himself. Amid the peoples named around this verse, his declaration concerns a particular person: “This one was born there.”
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 87:6. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).