Polyglot Bible: Psalms: Psalms 87

This is a scholarly parallel-text presentation of biblical psalm material, displaying the same canonical reference point across four manuscript traditions side by side: the King James Version (English), the Septuagint (Greek), the Tanakh (Hebrew), and the Latin Vulgate. The KJV and Hebrew columns present Psalm 87, a short, celebratory hymn to Zion declaring it the birthplace of all nations and the beloved city of God. The Septuagint and Vulgate columns, however, present what is actually Psalm 88 in Hebrew numbering — a stark lament attributed to Heman the Ezrahite, in which a sufferer cries out from near-death, abandoned by God and companions alike. The juxtaposition makes a textual-critical point: due to the well-known numbering discrepancy between the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint (where Psalms 9–10 are merged, shifting subsequent numbers), the same numeral points to entirely different psalms in different traditions. The document's distinctive value is this visual demonstration of how manuscript traditions diverge — not merely in wording but in identity — making it most useful to scholars, students, or readers interested in textual criticism, canon formation, or comparative biblical studies rather than devotional reading.

Polyglot Bible: Psalms: Psalms 87

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