The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God

A Psalm of David (A)when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.

34 I will (B)bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.

I (C)sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
(D)The [a]angel of the Lord (E)encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.

Oh, (F)taste and see that the Lord is good;
(G)Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no [b]want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
(H)But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

11 Come, you children, listen to me;
(I)I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 (J)Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking (K)deceit.
14 (L)Depart from evil and do good;
(M)Seek peace and pursue it.

15 (N)The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 (O)The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
(P)To [c]cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and (Q)the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 (R)The Lord is near (S)to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as [d]have a contrite spirit.

19 (T)Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
(U)But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones;
(V)Not one of them is broken.
21 (W)Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be [e]condemned.
22 The Lord (X)redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 34:7 Or Angel
  2. Psalm 34:9 lack
  3. Psalm 34:16 destroy
  4. Psalm 34:18 are crushed in spirit
  5. Psalm 34:21 held guilty

The Lord, a Provider and the One Who Rescues Me.

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

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

My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
The humble and downtrodden will hear it and rejoice.

O [a]magnify the Lord with me,
And let us lift up His name together.


I sought the Lord [on the authority of His word], and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.(A)

They looked to Him and were radiant;
Their faces will never blush in shame or confusion.

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
And saved him from all his troubles.

The [b]angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience],
And He rescues [each of] them.(B)


O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good;
How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who takes refuge in Him.(C)

O [reverently] fear the Lord, you His saints (believers, holy ones);
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
10 
The young lions lack [food] and grow hungry,
But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.
11 
Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you to fear the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience].
12 
Who is the man 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 [those with moral courage and spiritual integrity]
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.(D)
17 
When the righteous cry [for help], the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their distress and troubles.
18 
The Lord is near to the heartbroken
And He saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).

19 
Many hardships and perplexing circumstances confront the righteous,
But the Lord rescues him from them all.
20 
He keeps all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.(E)
21 
Evil will cause the death of the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be held guilty and will be condemned.
22 
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 34:3 The ancient rabbis applied this verse specifically to the saying of grace after a meal and instituted the practice of zimmum (“invitation”) as a religious duty for three or more men who had eaten together. They were to invite one another to say the blessing. One then said the blessing and the others were required to say “Amen” in voices no louder than that of the speaker of the blessing, based on the word together. It was also taught that all the participants in the blessing receive a reward from God.
  2. Psalm 34:7 See note Gen 16:7.

34 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

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

I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

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

The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.

11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

16 The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.

21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.

22 The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

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.