Psalm 34-37
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord, a Provider and Deliverer.
A Psalm of David when he [a]feigned madness before [b]Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.
34 I will (A)bless the Lord at all times;
His (B)praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will (C)make its boast in the Lord;
The (D)humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 O (E)magnify the Lord with me,
And let us (F)exalt His name together.
4 I (G)sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And (H)delivered me from all my fears.
5 They (I)looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will (J)never be ashamed.
6 This [c]poor man cried, and (K)the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The (L)angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
8 O (M)taste and see that the Lord is good;
How (N)blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 O fear the Lord, you (O)His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is (P)no want.
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall (Q)not be in want of any good thing.
11 (R)Come, you children, listen to me;
(S)I will teach you (T)the fear of the Lord.
12 (U)Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may (V)see good?
13 Keep (W)your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking (X)deceit.
14 (Y)Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and (Z)pursue it.
15 The (AA)eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The (AB)face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To (AC)cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous (AD)cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord (AE)is near to the (AF)brokenhearted
And saves those who are [d](AG)crushed in spirit.
19 (AH)Many are the (AI)afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord (AJ)delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones,
(AK)Not one of them is broken.
21 (AL)Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be [e]condemned.
22 The Lord (AM)redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who (AN)take refuge in Him will be [f]condemned.
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
A Psalm of David.
35 Contend, O Lord, with those who (AO)contend with me;
Fight against those who (AP)fight against me.
2 Take hold of [g](AQ)buckler and shield
And rise up for (AR)my help.
3 Draw also the spear and [h]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am (AS)your salvation.”
4 Let those be (AT)ashamed and dishonored who seek my [i]life;
Let those be (AU)turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be (AV)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and (AW)slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 For (AX)without cause they (AY)hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a [j]pit for my soul.
8 Let (AZ)destruction come upon him unawares,
And (BA)let the net which he hid catch himself;
Into that very (BB)destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall (BC)rejoice in the Lord;
It shall (BD)exult in His salvation.
10 All my (BE)bones will say, “Lord, (BF)who is like You,
Who delivers the afflicted from him (BG)who is too strong for him,
And (BH)the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”
11 (BI)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.
12 They (BJ)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, (BK)when they were sick, my (BL)clothing was sackcloth;
I (BM)humbled my soul with fasting,
And my (BN)prayer kept returning to my bosom.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I (BO)bowed down [k]mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
15 But (BP)at my [l]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The [m](BQ)smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They [n](BR)slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,
They (BS)gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, (BT)how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul (BU)from their ravages,
My (BV)only life from the lions.
18 I will (BW)give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will (BX)praise You among a mighty throng.
19 (BY)Do not let those who are wrongfully (BZ)my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those (CA)who hate me without cause [o](CB)wink maliciously.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise (CC)deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They (CD)opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “(CE)Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”
22 (CF)You have seen it, O Lord, (CG)do not keep silent;
O Lord, (CH)do not be far from me.
23 (CI)Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 (CJ)Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And (CK)do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their heart, “(CL)Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have (CM)swallowed him up!”
26 Let (CN)those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress;
Let those be (CO)clothed with shame and dishonor who (CP)magnify themselves over me.
27 Let them (CQ)shout for joy and rejoice, who favor (CR)my vindication;
And (CS)let them say continually, “The Lord be magnified,
Who (CT)delights in the prosperity of His servant.”
28 And (CU)my tongue shall declare Your righteousness
And Your praise all day long.
Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
36 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within [p]his heart;
There is (CV)no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For [q]it (CW)flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
3 The (CX)words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has (CY)ceased to [r]be wise and to do good.
4 He (CZ)plans wickedness upon his bed;
He sets himself on a (DA)path that is not good;
He (DB)does not despise evil.
5 Your (DC)lovingkindness, O Lord, [s]extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
6 Your (DD)righteousness is like the [t]mountains of God;
Your (DE)judgments are like a great deep.
O Lord, You (DF)preserve man and beast.
7 How (DG)precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
And the children of men (DH)take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
8 They (DI)drink their fill of the [u]abundance of Your house;
And You give them to drink of the (DJ)river of Your delights.
9 For with You is the (DK)fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
10 O continue Your lovingkindness to (DL)those who know You,
And Your (DM)righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Let not the foot of pride come upon me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the doers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been thrust down and (DN)cannot rise.
Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.
A Psalm of David.
37 (DO)Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not (DP)envious toward wrongdoers.
2 For they will (DQ)wither quickly like the grass
And (DR)fade like the green herb.
3 (DS)Trust in the Lord and do good;
(DT)Dwell in the land and [v](DU)cultivate faithfulness.
4 (DV)Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will (DW)give you the desires of your heart.
5 (DX)Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth (DY)your righteousness as the light
And your judgment (DZ)as the noonday.
7 [w]Rest in the Lord and (EA)wait [x]patiently for Him;
(EB)Do not fret because of him who (EC)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and (ED)forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For (EE)evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will (EF)inherit the land.
10 Yet (EG)a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for (EH)his place and he will not be there.
11 But (EI)the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in (EJ)abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked (EK)plots against the righteous
And (EL)gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord (EM)laughs at him,
For He sees (EN)his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and (EO)bent their bow
To cast down the (EP)afflicted and the needy,
To (EQ)slay those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their (ER)bows will be broken.
16 (ES)Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the (ET)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord (EU)sustains the righteous.
18 The Lord (EV)knows the days of the [y]blameless,
And their (EW)inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And (EX)in the days of famine they will have abundance.
20 But the (EY)wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the [z]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—(EZ)like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous (FA)is gracious and gives.
22 For (FB)those blessed by Him will (FC)inherit the land,
But those (FD)cursed by Him will be cut off.
23 (FE)The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He (FF)delights in his way.
24 When (FG)he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because (FH)the Lord is the One [aa]who holds his hand.
25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet (FI)I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or (FJ)his [ab]descendants begging bread.
26 All day long (FK)he is gracious and lends,
And (FL)his [ac]descendants are a blessing.
27 (FM)Depart from evil and do good,
[ad]So you will abide (FN)forever.
28 For the Lord (FO)loves [ae]justice
And (FP)does not forsake His godly ones;
They are (FQ)preserved forever,
But the [af](FR)descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will (FS)inherit the land
And (FT)dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous (FU)utters wisdom,
And his tongue (FV)speaks justice.
31 The (FW)law of his God is in his heart;
His (FX)steps do not slip.
32 The (FY)wicked spies upon the righteous
And (FZ)seeks to kill him.
33 The Lord will (GA)not leave him in his hand
Or (GB)let him be condemned when he is judged.
34 (GC)Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the (GD)wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have (GE)seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a (GF)luxuriant [ag]tree in its native soil.
36 Then [ah]he passed away, and lo, he (GG)was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the [ai](GH)blameless man, and behold the (GI)upright;
For the man of peace will have a [aj](GJ)posterity.
38 But transgressors will be altogether (GK)destroyed;
The [ak]posterity of the wicked will be (GL)cut off.
39 But the (GM)salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength (GN)in time of trouble.
40 (GO)The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He (GP)delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they (GQ)take refuge in Him.
Footnotes
- Psalm 34:1 Or changed his behavior
- Psalm 34:1 Possibly a title of King Achish of Gath, see 1 Sam 21:10-15
- Psalm 34:6 Or afflicted
- Psalm 34:18 Or contrite
- Psalm 34:21 Or held guilty
- Psalm 34:22 V 21, note 1
- Psalm 35:2 I.e. small shield
- Psalm 35:3 Or close up the path against those
- Psalm 35:4 Or soul
- Psalm 35:7 Pit has been transposed from line above
- Psalm 35:14 Or dressed in black
- Psalm 35:15 Or limping
- Psalm 35:15 Or smitten ones
- Psalm 35:15 Lit tore
- Psalm 35:19 Or wink the eye
- Psalm 36:1 Another reading is my heart
- Psalm 36:2 Or he flatters himself
- Psalm 36:3 Or understand to do good
- Psalm 36:5 Lit is in
- Psalm 36:6 Or mighty mountains
- Psalm 36:8 Lit fatness
- Psalm 37:3 Or feed securely or feed on His faithfulness
- Psalm 37:7 Or Be still
- Psalm 37:7 Or longingly
- Psalm 37:18 Lit complete; or perfect
- Psalm 37:20 I.e. flowers
- Psalm 37:24 Or who sustains him with His hand
- Psalm 37:25 Lit seed
- Psalm 37:26 Lit seed
- Psalm 37:27 Or And dwell forever
- Psalm 37:28 Lit judgment
- Psalm 37:28 Lit seed
- Psalm 37:35 Lit native; Heb obscure
- Psalm 37:36 Ancient versions read I passed by
- Psalm 37:37 Lit complete; or perfect
- Psalm 37:37 Lit an end
- Psalm 37:38 Lit end
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
