Psalm 34

¹ I will bless the LORD at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth.

² My soul shall boast in the LORD. The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

³ Oh magnify the LORD with me. Let’s exalt his name together.

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

⁵ They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame.

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

⁷ The LORD’s angel encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

⁸ Oh taste and see that the LORD is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

⁹ Oh fear the LORD, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him.

¹⁰ The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.

¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

¹² Who is someone who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?

¹³ Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking lies.

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

¹⁵ The LORD’s eyes are toward the righteous. His ears listen to their cry.

¹⁶ The LORD’s face is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸ The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

²⁰ He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken.

²¹ Evil shall kill the wicked. Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

²² The LORD redeems the soul of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned.

Around Psalm 34

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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