Psalm 34

The Lord Delivers the Righteous

Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech,(A) who drove him out, and he departed.

I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.(B)
I will boast in the Lord;(C)
the humble will hear and be glad.(D)
Proclaim the Lord’s greatness with me;(E)
let us exalt his name together.(F)

I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and rescued me from all my fears.(G)
Those who look to him are[a] radiant with joy;(H)
their faces will never be ashamed.(I)
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.(J)
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and rescues them.(K)

Taste and see that the Lord is good.(L)
How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!(M)
You who are his holy ones, fear the Lord,
for those who fear him lack nothing.(N)
10 Young lions[b] lack food and go hungry,(O)
but those who seek the Lord
will not lack any good thing.(P)

11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.(Q)
12 Who is someone who desires life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?(R)
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.(S)
14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;(T)
seek peace and pursue it.(U)

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry for help.(V)
16 The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil,(W)
to remove[c] all memory of them from the earth.(X)
17 The righteous[d] cry out, and the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.(Y)
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he saves those crushed in spirit.(Z)

19 One who is righteous has many adversities,
but the Lord rescues him from them all.(AA)
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.(AB)
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.(AC)
22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants,
and all who take refuge in him will not be punished.(AD)

Footnotes

  1. 34:5 Some Hb mss, LXX, Aq, Syr, Jer read Look to him and be
  2. 34:10 LXX, Syr, Vg read The rich
  3. 34:16 Or cut off
  4. 34:17 Lit They

By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away. So David[a] left.

Learning about God’s Deliverance

34 [b]I will bless the Lord at all times;
    his praise will be in my mouth continuously.
My soul will glorify the Lord;
    the humble will hear about it and rejoice.
Magnify the Lord with me!
Let us lift up his name together!

I sought the Lord and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all of my fears.
Look to him and be radiant;
    and you[c] will not be ashamed.

This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard
    and delivered him from all of his distress.
The angel of the Lord surrounds those who fear him,
    and he delivers them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good!
    How blessed is the person who trusts in him!
Fear the Lord, you holy ones of his;
    for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Young lions lack and go hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord will never lack any good thing.

11 Come, children, listen to me,
    and I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who among you[d] desires life,
    and wants long life in order to see good?
13 Then keep your tongue from doing evil
    and your lips from spreading lies.
14 Avoid evil and do good!
    Seek peace and pursue it!

15 The[e] Lord looks on the righteous,
    and he listens to their cries.
16 The face of the Lord is set against those who do evil,
    and he will remove people’s recollection of them from the earth.

17 The Lord hears those who cry out,
    and he delivers them from all their distress.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
    and he delivers those whose spirit has been crushed.
19 A righteous person will have many troubles,
    but the Lord will deliver him from them all.
20 God[f] protects all his bones;
    not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will kill the wicked;
    those who hate the righteous will be held guilty.
22 The Lord redeems the lives of his servants;
    and none of those who trust in him will be held guilty.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 34:1 Lit. he
  2. Psalm 34:1 This Psalm is an acrostic poem.
  3. Psalm 34:5 Lit. their faces
  4. Psalm 34:12 Lit. Who is the person who
  5. Psalm 34:15 Lit. The eyes of the
  6. Psalm 34:20 Lit. He

David Flees to Gath

10 David fled that day from Saul’s presence and went to King Achish of Gath.(A) 11 But Achish’s servants said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Don’t they sing about him during their dances:

Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands?” (B)

12 David took this to heart and became very afraid of King Achish of Gath, 13 so he pretended to be insane in their presence.(C) He acted like a madman around them,[a] scribbling[b] on the doors of the city gate and letting saliva run down his beard.

14 “Look! You can see the man is crazy,” Achish said to his servants. “Why did you bring him to me? 15 Do I have such a shortage of crazy people that you brought this one to act crazy around me? Is this one going to come into my house?” (D)

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Footnotes

  1. 21:13 Lit madman in their hand
  2. 21:13 LXX reads drumming

David Flees to Gath

10 David got up that day and fled from Saul, and he went to King Achish of Gath. 11 The officials[a] of Achish told him, “Isn’t this David, king of the land? Isn’t this the one about whom they sang as they danced,

‘Saul has struck down his thousands,
    but David his ten thousands’?”

12 David took these words seriously,[b] and he was very frightened of King Achish of Gath. 13 So David changed his behavior before them and acted like he was crazy in their presence. He scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva run down his beard. 14 Achish told his officials,[c] “Look, you see a person acting like a madman. Why’d you bring him to me? 15 Am I lacking madmen that you bring me this one to act like a madman around me? Shall this one come into my house?”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 21:11 Or servants
  2. 1 Samuel 21:12 Lit. paid attention to these words
  3. 1 Samuel 21:14 Or servants