Psalm 34-37

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

Psalm 34

[A Psalm] of David; when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him out, and he went away.

¹ I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

² My life makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble and afflicted hear and be glad.

³ O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

⁴ I sought (inquired of) the Lord and required Him [of necessity and on the authority of His Word], and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.^(A)

⁵ They looked to Him and were radiant; their faces shall never blush for shame or be confused.

⁶ This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

^7 [a]The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe] and each of them He delivers.^(B)

⁸ O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him.^(C)

⁹ O fear the Lord, you His saints [revere and worship Him]! For there is no want to those who truly revere and worship Him with godly fear.

¹⁰ The young lions lack food and suffer hunger, but they who seek (inquire of and require) the Lord [by right of their need and on the authority of His Word], none of them shall lack any beneficial thing.

¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you to revere and worshipfully fear the Lord.

¹² What man is he who desires life and longs for many days, that he may see good?

¹³ Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

¹⁴ Depart from evil and do good; seek, inquire for, and crave peace and pursue (go after) it!

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are toward the [uncompromisingly] 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.^(D)

¹⁷ When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their distress and troubles.

¹⁸ The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart and saves such as are crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly and thoroughly penitent.

¹⁹ Many evils confront the [consistently] righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

²⁰ He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

²¹ Evil shall cause the death of the wicked; and they who hate the just and righteous shall be held guilty and shall be condemned.

²² The Lord redeems the lives of His servants, and none of those who take refuge and trust in Him shall be condemned or held guilty.

Psalm 35

[A Psalm] of David.

¹ Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!

² Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help!

³ Draw out also the spear and javelin and close up the way of those who pursue and persecute me. Say to me, I am your deliverance!

⁴ Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek and require my life; let them be turned back and confounded who plan my hurt!

⁵ Let them be as chaff before the wind, with the ^[b]Angel of the Lord driving them on!

⁶ Let their way be through dark and slippery places, with the Angel of the Lord pursuing and afflicting them.

⁷ For without cause they hid for me their net; a pit of destruction without cause they dug for my life.

⁸ Let destruction befall [my foe] unawares; let the net he hid for me catch him; let him fall into that very destruction.

⁹ Then I shall be joyful in the Lord; I shall rejoice in His deliverance.

¹⁰ All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like You, You Who deliver the poor and the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him who snatches away his goods?

¹¹ Malicious and unrighteous witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I know not.

¹² They reward me evil for good to my personal bereavement.

¹³ But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting, and I prayed with head bowed on my breast.

¹⁴ I behaved as if grieving for my friend or my brother; I bowed down in sorrow, as one who bewails his mother.

¹⁵ But in my stumbling and limping they rejoiced and gathered together [against me]; the smiters (slanderers and revilers) gathered against me, and I knew them not; they ceased not to slander and revile me.

¹⁶ Like profane mockers at feasts [making sport for the price of a cake] they gnashed at me with their teeth.

¹⁷ Lord, how long will You look on [without action]? Rescue my life from their destructions, my dear and only life from the lions!

¹⁸ I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among a mighty throng.

¹⁹ Let not those who are wrongfully my foes rejoice over me; neither let them wink with the eye who hate me without cause.^(E)

²⁰ For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful matters against those who are quiet in the land.

²¹ Yes, they open their mouths wide against me; they say, Aha! Aha! Our eyes have seen it!

²² You have seen this, O Lord; keep not silence! O Lord, be not far from me!

²³ Arouse Yourself, awake to the justice due me, even to my cause, my God and my Lord!

²⁴ Judge and vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness (Your rightness and justice); and let [my foes] not rejoice over me!

²⁵ Let them not say in their hearts, Aha, that is what we wanted! Let them not say, We have swallowed him up and utterly destroyed him.

²⁶ Let them be put to shame and confusion together who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify and exalt themselves over me!

²⁷ Let those who favor my righteous cause and have pleasure in my uprightness shout for joy and be glad and say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.

²⁸ And my tongue shall talk of Your righteousness, rightness, and justice, and of [my reasons for] Your praise all the day long.

Psalm 36

To the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David the servant of the Lord.

¹ Transgression [like an oracle] speaks to the wicked deep in his heart. There is no fear or dread of God before his eyes.^(F)

² For he flatters and deceives himself in his own eyes that his iniquity will not be found out and be hated.

³ The words of his mouth are wrong and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good.

⁴ He plans wrongdoing on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject or despise evil.

⁵ Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, extend to the skies, and Your faithfulness to the clouds.

⁶ Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, Your judgments are like the great deep. O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

⁷ How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge and put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.

⁸ They relish and feast on the abundance of Your house; and You cause them to drink of the stream of Your pleasures.

⁹ For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light.^(G)

¹⁰ O continue Your loving-kindness to those who know You, Your righteousness (salvation) to the upright in heart.

¹¹ Let not the foot of pride overtake me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.

¹² There the workers of iniquity fall and lie prostrate; they are thrust down and shall not be able to rise.

Psalm 37

[A Psalm] of David.

¹ Fret not yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness (that which is not upright or in right standing with God).

² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

³ Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.

⁴ Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

⁶ And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.

⁷ Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.

⁸ Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself—it tends only to evildoing.

⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord [in the end] shall inherit the earth.^(H)

¹⁰ For yet a little while, and the evildoers will be no more; though you look with care where they used to be, they will not be found.^(I)

¹¹ But the meek [in the end] shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.^(J)

¹² The wicked plot against the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright in right standing with God); they gnash at them with their teeth.

¹³ The Lord laughs at [the wicked], for He sees that their own day [of defeat] is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who walk uprightly (blameless in conduct and in conversation).

¹⁵ The swords [of the wicked] shall enter their own hearts, and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶ Better is the little that the [uncompromisingly] righteous have than the abundance [of possessions] of many who are wrong and wicked.^(K)

¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the [consistently] righteous.

¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the upright and blameless, and their heritage will abide forever.

¹⁹ They shall not be put to shame in the time of evil; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

²⁰ But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs [that is consumed in smoke] and as the glory of the pastures. They shall vanish; like smoke shall they consume away.

²¹ The wicked borrow and pay not again [for they may be unable], but the [uncompromisingly] righteous deal kindly and give [for they are able].

²² For such as are blessed of God shall [in the end] inherit the earth, but they that are cursed of Him shall be cut off.^(L)

²³ The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].

²⁴ Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him.

²⁵ I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the [uncompromisingly] righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread.

²⁶ All day long they are merciful and deal graciously; they lend, and their offspring are blessed.

²⁷ Depart from evil and do good; and you will dwell forever [securely].

²⁸ For the Lord delights in justice and forsakes not His saints; they are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked [in time] shall be cut off.

²⁹ [Then] the [consistently] righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the [uncompromisingly] righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks with justice.

³¹ The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and seek to put them to death.

³³ The Lord will not leave them in their hands, or [suffer them to] condemn them when they are judged.

³⁴ Wait for and expect the Lord and keep and heed His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; [in the end] when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked man in great power and spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil,

³⁶ Yet he passed away, and behold, he was not; yes, I sought and inquired for him, but he could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless man and behold the upright, for there is a happy end for the man of peace.

³⁸ As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together; in the end the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹ But the salvation of the [consistently] righteous is of the Lord; He is their Refuge and secure Stronghold in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰ And the Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they trust and take refuge in Him.