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.

¹I will bless the Lord at all times;

his praise will always be on my lips. ^b

²I will boast in the Lord; ^c

the humble will hear and be glad. ^d

³Proclaim the Lord’s greatness with me; ^e

let us exalt his name together. ^f

⁴I sought the Lord, and he answered me

and rescued me from all my fears. ^g

⁵Those who look to him are ^h radiant with joy; ⁱ

their faces will never be ashamed. ^j

⁶This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him

and saved him from all his troubles. ^k

⁷The angel of the Lord encamps

around those who fear him, and rescues them. ^l

⁸Taste and see that the Lord is good. ^m

How happy is the person who takes refuge in him! ⁿ

⁹You who are his holy ones, fear the Lord,

for those who fear him lack nothing. ^o

¹⁰Young lions ^p lack food and go hungry, ^q

but those who seek the Lord

will not lack any good thing. ^r

¹¹Come, children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord. ^s

¹²Who is someone who desires life,

loving a long life to enjoy what is good? ^t

¹³Keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from deceitful speech. ^u

¹⁴Turn away from evil and do what is good; ^v

seek peace and pursue it. ^w

¹⁵The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are open to their cry for help. ^x

¹⁶The face of the Lord is set

against those who do what is evil, ^y

to remove ^z all memory of them from the earth. ^aa

¹⁷The righteous ^ab cry out, and the Lord hears,

and rescues them from all their troubles. ^ac

¹⁸The Lord is near the brokenhearted;

he saves those crushed in spirit. ^ad

¹⁹One who is righteous has many adversities,

but the Lord rescues him from them all. ^ae

²⁰He protects all his bones;

not one of them is broken. ^af

²¹Evil brings death to the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be punished. ^ag

²²The Lord redeems the life of his servants,

and all who take refuge in him will not be punished. ^ah