Psalms 34

I will praise the LORD at all times. His praise will always be on my lips.

1I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

NoteIn the King James Version, "LORD" printed in capitals stands for the personal name of Israel's God, the four Hebrew letters YHWH, which Jewish readers did not pronounce aloud. "Bless the LORD" is a Hebrew idiom meaning to speak well of him, to praise him, a person blessing God, not the other way round. In Hebrew this psalm is an acrostic: each verse begins with the next letter of the alphabet, a pattern that cannot survive translation and which sometimes shapes the order of the lines.

2My whole self will boast about the LORD. Those who are humble and beaten down will hear it and be glad.

2My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

Note"My soul" translates the Hebrew *nephesh*, which means the whole living person (the self, one's life and breath), not an immaterial part housed inside a body. "Make her boast" is older English for "boast" or "glory in"; the "her" reflects an old habit of treating "soul" as feminine and carries no meaning. "The humble" translates a word for people who are poor, afflicted, or pushed around by those with more power.

3Join me in saying how great the LORD is. Let us lift up his name together.

3O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.

Note"Magnify" here does not mean to enlarge something. It means to declare how great someone already is, to make his greatness known publicly.

4I looked for the LORD and asked him for help. He answered me and rescued me from everything I was afraid of.

4I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

5The people who look to him have shining faces. They will never have to hang their heads in shame.

5They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

Note"Were lightened" is 1611 English for "were lit up" or "became radiant", faces shining with relief, not "made lighter in weight." The Hebrew verb forms are ambiguous and can be read either as a statement about what happened ("they looked to him and became radiant") or as an invitation ("look to him and be radiant").

6This poor man called out for help. The LORD heard him and saved him from all his troubles.

6This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

Note"This poor man" most likely means the speaker pointing at himself, shifting into the third person. The Hebrew word covers both poverty and affliction: someone lowly, with no resources and no protector.

7The angel of the LORD sets up camp around the people who honor and respect him, and he rescues them.

7The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

Note"The angel of the LORD" translates a word meaning simply "messenger" (a figure sent by God, sometimes spoken of as if God himself were present. "Encampeth round about" is a military picture: an army pitching its tents in a ring around what it is guarding. To "fear" God in Hebrew usage means reverence and awe before him, the attitude of someone who takes God seriously), not being frightened of him.

8Taste and see for yourself that the LORD is good. Happy is the person who trusts in him for safety.

8O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Note"Taste and see" is an invitation to test something by direct experience rather than take it on report. "Blessed" here translates a Hebrew word meaning "fortunate" or "happy is the person who...", a standard opening for wisdom sayings; it is not the word for pronouncing a blessing. "Trusteth in him" translates a verb meaning to take refuge, to run to someone for shelter, as one runs to a stronghold.

9Honor and respect the LORD, you people who belong to him. Those who do that lack nothing.

9O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

Note"Saints" translates a Hebrew word meaning "holy ones", people set apart as belonging to God. It does not mean people of exceptional virtue or officially recognized saints. "There is no want" uses "want" in its older sense of "lack," not "desire."

10Even young lions go without food and get hungry. But those who look to the LORD will not lack any good thing.

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

NoteYoung lions are the picture of strength at its hunting peak; the point is that even the most capable predator sometimes goes hungry. Some ancient copies read "the rich" instead of "young lions," the two words being similar in Hebrew. Again "want" means "lack."

11Come here, children, and listen to me. I will teach you what it means to honor and respect the LORD.

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

Note"Children" here is the standard address of a teacher to students in Hebrew wisdom instruction, literally "sons," meaning pupils of any age, not necessarily young children. Verses 11 to 14 follow the classroom pattern of that tradition: a question posed, then the answer taught.

12Is there anyone here who wants to live, who wants many days and wants to enjoy good things?

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

13Then keep your tongue from saying what is evil, and keep your lips from telling lies.

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

Note"Guile" is older English for deceit or trickery, words designed to mislead.

14Turn away from evil and do what is good. Look for peace, and chase after it.

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

15The eyes of the LORD are on those who do what is right, and his ears are open to their cry for help.

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

NoteSpeaking of God's eyes, ears and face is ordinary Hebrew figurative language for his attention, his willingness to listen, and his personal stance toward someone. "His ears are open" renders an image of ears turned or leaning toward a sound.

16But the LORD sets his face against those who do evil, to wipe out every memory of them from the earth.

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

NoteTo "set the face against" someone is a Hebrew idiom for active opposition, turning to confront an enemy. "To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth" means wiping out any trace that they existed: no name remembered, no descendants to carry it. In this culture, being forgotten was among the worst things that could happen to a person.

17Those who do what is right cry out, and the LORD hears them and rescues them from all their troubles.

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

18The LORD is close to those whose hearts are broken. He saves those whose spirit has been crushed.

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

Note"Contrite" is an old English word meaning crushed or ground to pieces; the Hebrew word behind it is used of things physically shattered. Both halves of the verse describe people broken by suffering, not people feeling sorry for something they have done.

19Those who do what is right suffer many hard things. But the LORD rescues them out of every one of them.

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

20He guards all their bones. Not one of them will be broken.

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

Note"Bones" in Hebrew often stands for the whole physical frame, a person's body and structural strength, so "he keepeth all his bones" means God guards every part of him. The singular "his" refers back to "the righteous" of verse 19, treated as a single representative figure.

21Evil will kill the wicked, and those who hate the person who does right will be found guilty.

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

Note"Desolate" in 1611 English could mean "condemned" or "held guilty." The Hebrew verb is a legal one: to be found guilty and bear the penalty. It does not mean lonely or abandoned.

22The LORD pays the price to set his servants free. No one who trusts in him for safety will be found guilty.

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

Note"Redeemeth" translates a Hebrew verb meaning to buy someone back by paying a price, the word used for ransoming a slave, a prisoner, or a forfeited life. "The soul of his servants" again means their lives, their whole selves. "Desolate" here, as in verse 21, means found guilty.