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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

Thanksgiving for Yahweh’s Deliverance

Of David, when he pretended to be crazy[a] in front of Abimelech[b]

so that he drove him out, and so he departed.[c]

34 I will bless Yahweh at all times;
his praise shall be in my mouth continually.
My soul makes its boast in Yahweh;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Magnify Yahweh with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
I sought Yahweh and he answered me,
and from all my terrors he delivered me.
They looked to him and were radiant,
and their faces shall not be ashamed.[d]
This poor man called and Yahweh heard,
and saved him from all his troubles.
The angel of Yahweh encamps
around those who fear him,
and he rescues them.
Taste and see that Yahweh is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Fear Yahweh, you his saints,[e]
for there is no lack for those who fear him.
10 The young lions are in want and suffer hunger,
but those who seek Yahweh will not lack for any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
who loves many days in order to see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Turn from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of Yahweh are toward the righteous,
and his ears toward their cry for help.
16 The face of Yahweh is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 They[f] cry out and Yahweh hears
and delivers them from all of their troubles.
18 Yahweh is near to those who are heartbroken
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the distresses of the righteous,
but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will incur guilt.
22 Yahweh redeems the life of his servants,
and none who take refuge in him will incur guilt.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 34:1 Literally “he changed his discernment”
  2. Psalm 34:1 Literally “my father is king” whereas 1 Sam 21:10(9) has “Achish.” “Abimelech” is perhaps an honorific title, since its literal meaning suggests a legitimate right to rule
  3. Psalm 34:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
  4. Psalm 34:5 Or “and let not their faces be ashamed”
  5. Psalm 34:9 Or “holy ones”
  6. Psalm 34:17 That is, the righteous

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

David Flees to Achish in Gath

10 So David got up and fled on that day from the presence of Saul, and he came to Achish the king of Gath. 11 The servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Is it not for this one that they sang in the dances, saying, ‘Saul killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands?’” 12 David took these words seriously[a] and felt severely threatened by[b] Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them[c] and pretended to be mad in their presence.[d] He made scratches on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down into his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see a madman! Why did you bring him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen that you have brought this one to act like a madman before me? Should this one enter my household?”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 21:12 Literally “David put these words in his heart”
  2. 1 Samuel 21:12 Literally “he was very afraid from the face of”
  3. 1 Samuel 21:13 Literally “in their eyes”
  4. 1 Samuel 21:13 Literally “in their hands”