Psalm 34
A reminder: I’ve prepared these psalms for our liturgy, trying to be as accurate in my translation as possible. The alternation between plain text and bold is for responsive reading. I invite feedback on the translation!
By David.
When he changed his sense before Abimelech
And he drove him out and he went.× I bless Yahweh at every time;
Continually his praise is in my mouth.
ב In Yahweh my soul boasts.
The oppressed hear and rejoice.
×’ Magnify Yahweh with me,
And let us exalt his name together.
ד I sought Yahweh and he answered me;
And from all my terrors he delivered me.×” They looked to him and shone;
ו And their faces were not shamed.
×– This oppressed man called and Yahweh heard;
And from all his distresses saved him.
×— The angel of Yahweh is encamping
All around those who fear him and delivers them.ט Taste and see that Yahweh is good!
Happy is the young man who takes refuge in him.
×™ Fear Yahweh, his holy ones,
Because there is no lack for those who fear him.
×› Young lions have grown poor and hungered;
But the seekers of Yahweh do not lack any good thing.ל Come, sons! Listen to me!
The fear of Yahweh I will teach you.
מ Who is the man who desires life,
Who loves days in which to see good?
× Preserve your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
ס Turn from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.×¢ The eyes of Yahweh are toward the righteous,
And his ears are toward their cry.
פ The face of Yahweh is against those who do evil,
To cut off from the earth their memorial.צ They cried and Yahweh heard;
And from all their distresses delivered them.
ק Near is Yahweh to the broken of heart;
And the crushed of spirit he saves.
ר Many are the evils of the righteous,
And from them all Yahweh will deliver him,
ש Guarding all his bones:
Not one of them is broken.
ת Evil will slay the wicked,
And the haters of the righteous will be condemned.
Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants,
And all who take refuge in him will not be condemned.
One note about this psalm: The word “evil” here doesn’t refer to sin. Instead, it refers to hardships, troubles, the evils of life. So when the Psalm says, “Many are the evils of the righteous,” it’s talking about what they suffer, not sins they commit.
[Update, August 12, 2011: I can’t figure out at this point how to make the Hebrew font work at the front of the various lines. Sorry for the gibberish. I had it once, and then there was a WordPress update. Someday I’ll figure it out and fix all of this.]
September 6th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Great post!!!! The Psalms are David’s confessions and pronouncements about his God. You can see in them why God called him a man after His own heart. What God wants to hear, are our confessions of praise in our own words.