Psalm 34
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 34
The Lord Delivers the Righteous
Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech,[a](A) who drove him out, and he departed.
1 I[b] will praise the Lord at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.(B)
2 I will boast in the Lord;(C)
the humble will hear and be glad.(D)
3 Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me;(E)
let us exalt His name together.(F)
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.(G)
5 Those who look to Him are[c] radiant with joy;(H)
their faces will never be ashamed.(I)
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.(J)
7 The Angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear Him, and rescues them.(K)
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.(L)
How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!(M)
9 You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.(N)
10 Young lions[d] 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 the man who delights in 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 erase[e] all memory of them from the earth.(X)
17 The righteous[f] cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.(Y)
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
He saves those crushed in spirit.(Z)
19 Many adversities come to the one who is righteous,
but the Lord delivers 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
- Psalm 34:1 Probably Achish, king of Gath
- Psalm 34:1 The lines of this poem form an acrostic.
- Psalm 34:5 Some Hb mss, LXX, Aq, Syr, Jer read Look to Him and be
- Psalm 34:10 LXX, Syr, Vg read The rich
- Psalm 34:16 Or cut off
- Psalm 34:17 Lit They
Psalm 34
International Standard Version
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.
2 My soul will glorify the Lord;
the humble will hear about it and rejoice.
3 Magnify the Lord with me!
Let us lift up his name together!
4 I sought the Lord and he answered me;
he delivered me from all of my fears.
5 Look to him and be radiant;
and you[c] will not be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard
and delivered him from all of his distress.
7 The angel of the Lord surrounds those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good!
How blessed is the person who trusts in him!
9 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
- Psalm 34:1 Lit. he
- Psalm 34:1 This Psalm is an acrostic poem.
- Psalm 34:5 Lit. their faces
- Psalm 34:12 Lit. Who is the person who
- Psalm 34:15 Lit. The eyes of the
- Psalm 34:20 Lit. He
1 Samuel 21:10-15
Holman Christian Standard Bible
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[a] 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,[b] scribbling[c] on the doors of the 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)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 21:12 Lit David placed these words in his heart
- 1 Samuel 21:13 Lit madman in their hand
- 1 Samuel 21:13 LXX reads drumming
1 Samuel 21:10-15
International Standard Version
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?”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 21:11 Or servants
- 1 Samuel 21:12 Lit. paid attention to these words
- 1 Samuel 21:14 Or servants
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