Verse

Psalm chapter 34

English Standard Version

1I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 3Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! 4I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 20He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. 21 Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
New International Version

New American Standard Bible

1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2My soul will make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice. 3Exalt the Lord with me, And let’s exalt His name together. 4I sought the Lord and He answered me, And rescued me from all my fears. 5They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed. 6This wretched man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. 7The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them. 8Taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! 9Fear the Lord, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no lack of anything. 10The young lions do without and suffer hunger; But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. 11Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12Who is the person who desires life And loves length of days, that he may see good? 13Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. 14Turn from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. 15The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears are toward their cry for help. 16The face of the Lord is against evildoers, To eliminate the memory of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears And rescues them from all their troubles. 18The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19The afflictions of the righteous are many, But the Lord rescues him from them all. 20He protects all his bones, Not one of them is broken. 21Evil will bring death to the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt. 22The Lord redeems the souls of His servants, And none of those who take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.
Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

King James Version

New King James Version

1{A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.} I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. 4I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. 5They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. 6This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. 8Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! 9Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. 10The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. 11Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? 13Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. 20He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. 21 Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. 22The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

What does Psalm chapter 34 mean?

Psalm 34 opens with something David expresses several times: a vow to constantly praise and honor God (Psalm 61:8; 145:1–2). David's comment about his "boast" being in God relates to Paul's similar references in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 10:17; Galatians 6:14). David's song appeals to others to join him in this worship (Psalm 34:1–3).

The preface to this psalm refers to David escaping from Abimelech by altering his behavior. This event is recorded in 1 Samuel 21:10–15. There, facing capture by the Philistines, David pretended to be insane. In that culture, those suffering insanity were thought to either be cursed by the gods, or specially touched with divine messages. In either case, most people wanted no contact, at all, with such people. What could have become a disaster for David ended in his safety. In this psalm, David gives thanks to God for hearing his prayers, and for protecting him (Psalm 34:4–7).

After thanking God for rescue, David turns to appeal to others to trust in the Lord. To "taste" means something more than a superficial experience. Those who fully engage in God's will find that He is powerful and merciful. As a former shepherd, David would have been familiar with lions, and knew that even those powerful creatures would suffer without food and shelter. David fully recognizes that faith in God does not make a person immune to hardship (Psalm 34:19). Still, he notes that God provides all that His people truly need (Psalm 34:8–10).

The next passage of the psalm is like the words of Solomon: promoting godly wisdom and the relative safety it provides (Proverbs 1:7–8). Obedience to God is not a magical defense against all harm (Psalm 34:19), but it keeps a person away from unnecessary consequences. Those who want the best outcomes in life are wise to pursue godliness and goodness, rather than sin (Psalm 34:11–14).

In keeping with those ideas, David then notes that God is aware of the struggles of His people. He is also aware of the sins of the wicked. Where God's attention for those who love Him is focused on compassion and mercy, His attention to those who are evil is centered on judgment (Psalm 34:15–18).

In the final section of this psalm, David both acknowledges the reality of suffering and the ultimate rescue provided by God. God's rescue of His people is not always in a physical sense (Hebrews 11:13–16; 2 Corinthians 12:7–10; John 16:1–4, 33), but He promises ultimate salvation (John 10:28) to those who follow Him (Psalm 34:19–22).

Another interesting comment in this last passage is the reference to broken bones. Verse 20 mentions God preventing the bones of the righteous from being broken. In immediate context, this is clearly hyperbole: an exaggeration for effect. David's main point is that God is infinitely capable of protecting His people. However, this statement also serves as a prophecy about the death of the Messiah. Passover lambs were to be prepared without breaking the bones (Exodus 12:46), and Jesus was crucified without suffering any such injury (John 19:33–37). Paul notes that Jesus serves as the fulfillment of the Passover lamb type (1 Corinthians 5:7)—this comment by David is part of that foreshadowing.
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