Antiphon 1 . How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts.
Antiphon 2. Lord, God of hosts, happy the man who trusts in you.
My soul is longing and yearning,
Is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
To God, the living God.
2. The sparrow herself finds a home
And the swallow a nest for her brood;
She lays her young by your altars,
God of hosts, my King and my God.
3. They are happy, who dwell, in your house,
For ever singing your praise.
They are happy, whose strength is in you,
In whose hearts are the roads to Sion.
4. As they go through the bitter valley,
They make it a place of springs,
(the autumn rain covers it with blessings,)
They walk with ever growing strength;
They will see the God of gods in Sion.
5. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer,
Give ear, O God of Jacob.
Turn your eyes, O God, our shield,
Look on the face of your anointed
6. One day within your courts
Is better than a thousand elsewhere.
The threshold of the house of God
I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.
7. For the Lord God is a rampart, a shield;
He will give us his favour and glory.
The Lord will not refuse any good
To those who walk without blame.
8. Give glory to the Father Almighty,
To his son, Jesus Christ, the Lord,
To the spirit who dwells in our hearts,
Both now and for ever. Amen.