Psalm 34 Text
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Psalm 34/Text
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Psalm 34
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Listen & Read: Psalm 34
Read along and listen to our audio recordings for Psalm 34. Choose between simple, unaffected audio recordings (in Hebrew or English), or a dramatized reading that takes into account our emotional and discourse analyses. You can also choose between a text-only view, or a view overlaid with our summary At-a-Glance, Expanded Paraphrase, or Participant Analysis tracking.
| Simple Reading (Hebrew) Forthcoming. |
Simple Reading (English) Forthcoming. |
| Dramatic Reading (Hebrew) Forthcoming. |
Dramatic Reading (English) Forthcoming. |
Text Only (Hebrew and English) The text below is divided according to the psalm's poetic lines. For additional information, see our Poetic Structure layer.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Text (CBC) The Close-but-clear translation (CBC) exists to provide a window into the Hebrew text according to how we understand its syntax and word-to-phrase-level semantics. It is not intended to be used as a stand-alone translation or base text, but as a supplement to Layer-by-Layer materials to help users make full use of these resources. |
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Structure Overlay Below, the text has been overlaid with our summary structural analysis. For details on the structure, see the Structure At-a-Glance here.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Text (CBC) |
|---|---|---|
| לְדָוִ֗ד בְּשַׁנּוֹת֣וֹ אֶת־טַ֭עְמוֹ לִפְנֵ֣י אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ וַֽ֝יְגָרֲשֵׁ֗הוּ וַיֵּלַֽךְ׃ | 1a | By David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, and Abimelek drove him out, and he went. |
| אֲבָרֲכָ֣ה אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה בְּכָל־עֵ֑ת | 2a | I will bless YHWH at all times. |
| תָּ֝מִ֗יד תְּֽהִלָּת֥וֹ בְּפִֽי׃ | 2b | His praise will continually be in my mouth. |
| בַּ֭יהוָה תִּתְהַלֵּ֣ל נַפְשִׁ֑י | 3a | My soul boasts in YHWH. |
| יִשְׁמְע֖וּ עֲנָוִ֣ים וְיִשְׂמָֽחוּ׃ | 3b | May the afflicted hear and be glad! |
| גַּדְּל֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה אִתִּ֑י | 4a | Extol YHWH with me, |
| וּנְרוֹמְמָ֖ה שְׁמוֹ יַחְדָּֽו׃ | 4b | and let us exalt his name together! |
| דָּרַ֣שְׁתִּי אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה וְעָנָ֑נִי | 5a | I sought YHWH and he answered me |
| וּמִכָּל־מְ֝גוּרוֹתַ֗י הִצִּילָֽנִי׃ | 5b | and he rescued me from all my terrors. |
| *הַבִּיטוּ* אֵלָ֣יו *וּנְהָרוּ* | 6a | Gaze at him and glow, |
| וּפְנֵיכֶם* אַל־יֶחְפָּֽרוּ׃* | 6b | and do not let your faces be ashamed! |
| זֶ֤ה עָנִ֣י קָ֭רָא וַיהוָ֣ה שָׁמֵ֑עַ | 7a | This is a poor man who called out and YHWH heard |
| וּמִכָּל־צָ֝רוֹתָ֗יו הוֹשִׁיעֽוֹ׃ | 7b | and saved him from all his troubles. |
| חֹנֶ֤ה מַלְאַךְ־יְהוָ֓ה | 8a | YHWH’s angel encamps |
| סָ֘בִ֤יב לִֽירֵאָ֗יו וַֽיְחַלְּצֵֽם׃ | 8b | all around those who fear him and he delivers them. |
| טַעֲמ֣וּ וּ֭רְאוּ כִּי־ט֣וֹב יְהוָ֑ה | 9a | Taste and see that YHWH is good! |
| אַֽשְׁרֵ֥י הַ֝גֶּ֗בֶר יֶחֱסֶה־בּֽוֹ׃ | 9b | Happy is the man who seeks refuge in him. |
| יְר֣אוּ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה קְדֹשָׁ֑יו | 10a | Fear YHWH, you holy ones of his! |
| כִּי־אֵ֥ין מַ֝חְס֗וֹר לִירֵאָֽיו׃ | 10b | For those who fear him have no lack. |
| כְּ֭פִירִים רָשׁ֣וּ וְרָעֵ֑בוּ | 11a | Young lions have suffered want and been hungry, |
| וְדֹרְשֵׁ֥י יְ֝הוָ֗ה לֹא־יַחְסְר֥וּ כָל־טֽוֹב׃ | 11b | but those who seek YHWH will not lack any good. |
| לְֽכוּ־בָ֭נִים שִׁמְעוּ־לִ֑י | 12a | Come, children! Listen to me! |
| יִֽרְאַ֥ת יְ֝הוָ֗ה אֲלַמֶּדְכֶֽם׃ | 12b | I will teach you the fear of YHWH. |
| מִֽי־הָ֭אִישׁ הֶחָפֵ֣ץ חַיִּ֑ים | 13a | Who is the person who desires life, |
| אֹהֵ֥ב יָ֝מִ֗ים לִרְא֥וֹת טֽוֹב׃ | 13b | who wants to live a long time, who loves to see good? |
| נְצֹ֣ר לְשׁוֹנְךָ֣ מֵרָ֑ע | 14a | Keep your tongue from evil |
| וּ֝שְׂפָתֶ֗יךָ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר מִרְמָֽה׃ | 14b | and your lips from speaking deceit! |
| ס֣וּר מֵ֭רָע וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב | 15a | Turn away from evil and do good! |
| בַּקֵּ֖שׁ שָׁל֣וֹם וְרָדְפֵֽהוּ׃ | 15b | Seek peace and pursue it! |
| פְּנֵ֣י יְ֭הוָה בְּעֹ֣שֵׂי רָ֑ע | 17a | YHWH’s face is against those who do evil, |
| לְהַכְרִ֖ית מֵאֶ֣רֶץ זִכְרָֽם׃ | 17b | so as to remove the memory of them from the earth. |
| עֵינֵ֣י יְ֭הוָה אֶל־צַדִּיקִ֑ים | 16a | YHWH’s eyes are directed towards the righteous, |
| וְ֝אָזְנָ֗יו אֶל־שַׁוְעָתָֽם׃ | 16b | and his ears are attentive to their cries for help. |
| צָעֲק֣וּ וַיהוָ֣ה שָׁמֵ֑עַ | 18a | They called for help, and YHWH heard, |
| וּמִכָּל־צָ֝רוֹתָ֗ם הִצִּילָֽם׃ | 18b | and he delivered them from all their troubles. |
| קָר֣וֹב יְ֭הוָה לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־לֵ֑ב | 19a | YHWH is near to the broken-hearted |
| וְֽאֶת־דַּכְּאֵי־ר֥וּחַ יוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃ | 19b | and he saves the crushed in spirit. |
| רַ֭בּוֹת רָע֣וֹת צַדִּ֑יק | 20a | The hardships of the righteous are many, |
| וּ֝מִכֻּלָּ֗ם יַצִּילֶ֥נּוּ יְהוָֽה׃ | 20b | but YHWH rescues him from all of them. |
| שֹׁמֵ֥ר כָּל־עַצְמוֹתָ֑יו | 21a | He protects all his bones. |
| אַחַ֥ת מֵ֝הֵ֗נָּה לֹ֣א נִשְׁבָּֽרָה׃ | 21b | Not one of them has broken. |
| תְּמוֹתֵ֣ת רָשָׁ֣ע רָעָ֑ה | 22a | Hardship finishes off a wicked person, |
| וְשֹׂנְאֵ֖י צַדִּ֣יק יֶאְשָֽׁמוּ׃ | 22b | and those who hate a righteous person bear their guilt |
| פּוֹדֶ֣ה יְ֭הוָה נֶ֣פֶשׁ עֲבָדָ֑יו | 23a | YHWH redeems his servants’ lives, |
| וְלֹ֥א יֶ֝אְשְׁמ֗וּ כָּֽל־הַחֹסִ֥ים בּֽוֹ׃ | 23b | and no one who seeks refuge in him will ever bear guilt. |
Expanded paraphrase The expanded paraphrase seeks to capture the implicit information within the text and make it explicit for readers today. It is based on the CBC translation and uses italic text to provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences.
This resource is forthcoming.
Participant Tracking Text Participant Analysis focuses on the characters in the psalm and asks, “Who are the main participants (or characters) in this psalm, and what are they saying or doing? Our full analysis can be found in the Participant Analysis layer.
