Psalm 34[a][b]

Of David. When he pretended to be insane(A) before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

I will extol the Lord at all times;(B)
    his praise will always be on my lips.
I will glory(C) in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.(D)
Glorify the Lord(E) with me;
    let us exalt(F) his name together.

I sought the Lord,(G) and he answered me;
    he delivered(H) me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;(I)
    their faces are never covered with shame.(J)
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.(K)
The angel of the Lord(L) encamps around those who fear him,
    and he delivers(M) them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good;(N)
    blessed is the one who takes refuge(O) in him.
Fear the Lord,(P) you his holy people,
    for those who fear him lack nothing.(Q)
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.(R)
11 Come, my children, listen(S) to me;
    I will teach you(T) the fear of the Lord.(U)
12 Whoever of you loves life(V)
    and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue(W) from evil
    and your lips from telling lies.(X)
14 Turn from evil and do good;(Y)
    seek peace(Z) and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord(AA) are on the righteous,(AB)
    and his ears are attentive(AC) to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against(AD) those who do evil,(AE)
    to blot out their name(AF) from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears(AG) them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close(AH) to the brokenhearted(AI)
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 The righteous person may have many troubles,(AJ)
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;(AK)
20 he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken.(AL)

21 Evil will slay the wicked;(AM)
    the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord will rescue(AN) his servants;
    no one who takes refuge(AO) in him will be condemned.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 34:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  2. Psalm 34:1 In Hebrew texts 34:1-22 is numbered 34:2-23.

The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,(A)
    and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
    then sinks like the river of Egypt;(B)
he builds his lofty palace[a](C) in the heavens
    and sets its foundation[b] on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out over the face of the land—
    the Lord is his name.(D)

“Are not you Israelites
    the same to me as the Cushites[c]?”(E)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
    the Philistines(F) from Caphtor[d](G)
    and the Arameans from Kir?(H)

“Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
    are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy(I) it
    from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
    the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.(J)
“For I will give the command,
    and I will shake the people of Israel
    among all the nations
as grain(K) is shaken in a sieve,(L)
    and not a pebble will reach the ground.(M)
10 All the sinners among my people
    will die by the sword,(N)
all those who say,
    ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’(O)

Israel’s Restoration

11 “In that day

“I will restore David’s(P) fallen shelter(Q)
    I will repair its broken walls
    and restore its ruins(R)
    and will rebuild it as it used to be,(S)
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom(T)
    and all the nations that bear my name,[e](U)
declares the Lord, who will do these things.(V)

13 “The days are coming,”(W) declares the Lord,

“when the reaper(X) will be overtaken by the plowman(Y)
    and the planter by the one treading(Z) grapes.
New wine(AA) will drip from the mountains
    and flow from all the hills,(AB)
14     and I will bring(AC) my people Israel back from exile.[f](AD)

“They will rebuild the ruined cities(AE) and live in them.
    They will plant vineyards(AF) and drink their wine;
    they will make gardens and eat their fruit.(AG)
15 I will plant(AH) Israel in their own land,(AI)
    never again to be uprooted(AJ)
    from the land I have given them,”(AK)

says the Lord your God.(AL)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Amos 9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region
  4. Amos 9:7 That is, Crete
  5. Amos 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint so that the remnant of people / and all the nations that bear my name may seek me
  6. Amos 9:14 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel

13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind(A) and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on(B) toward the goal to win the prize(C) for which God has called(D) me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Following Paul’s Example

15 All of us, then, who are mature(E) should take such a view of things.(F) And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.(G) 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

17 Join together in following my example,(H) brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.(I) 18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears,(J) many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.(K) 19 Their destiny(L) is destruction, their god is their stomach,(M) and their glory is in their shame.(N) Their mind is set on earthly things.(O) 20 But our citizenship(P) is in heaven.(Q) And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,(R) 21 who, by the power(S) that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies(T) so that they will be like his glorious body.(U)

Closing Appeal for Steadfastness and Unity

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for,(V) my joy and crown, stand firm(W) in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

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