Psa 133 | EE | STEP | This is a song for climbing by David. See how good it is. And see what pleasure it brings when brothers stay together.

Psalms 133

The Dew on Hermon Mountain

This is a song for climbing by David.

1 See how good it is.

And see what pleasure it brings when brothers stay together. ^{▼▼133:1 Verse 1: Brothers ‘stay together’ means that brothers ‘do not fight.’}

2 It is as a sweet oil poured on the head.

It goes down on to the beard, as it did on to Aaron’s beard.

It then poured down over his clothes. ^{▼▼133:2 Verse 2: A united country is like sweet oil. This is not motor oil, but oil from a fruit called the olive. We still use it to cook things in. You can make oils from many other fruits, not only olives.
Aaron was Moses’ brother. He was the first chief (most important) priest of the Jews. A priest is a special servant of God. They do something special to a chief priest at the start of his work. They ‘anoint’ him. This means that they put olive oil on his head. It runs down his face on to his beard. Then it goes on to his clothes. A better translation of ‘clothes’ is ‘collar.’ The collar is the part of our clothes round our necks. The oil makes everything smell nice. It is like a picture of brothers who are not fighting. It is good, or ‘smells nice.’}

3 It is like the dew on the mountain called Hermon.

It also pours down on to the mountains of Zion.

The LORD has said that it is a good place to be.

There is always life there. ^{▼▼133:3 Verse 3: This verse gives another picture. Dew is water that comes on to the ground at night. It comes down on mountains like Hermon and Zion. Hermon is in the north of the country where the Jews lived. The dew makes plants grow when there is no rain. Zion is the mountain in Jerusalem where the Jews built God’s house. Zion is a good place to be. Zion is where God ‘blesses’ people (or does good things for them). That is why it is a good place. For Christians, Zion is like a picture of the Church.}