Psalms 34:1–22, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Psalms 34:1–22
Alphabetic praise learned through deliverance
A poor man's cry taught as an alphabet of praise
The speaker will bless the LORD at all times; praise shall continually be in his mouth. His soul boasts in the LORD; the humble hear and are glad. Magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
He sought the LORD, who answered and delivered him from all his fears. Those who look to God are radiant, and their faces shall not be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him. Taste and see that the LORD is good. The David-Abimelech heading and the acrostic shape guide how the psalm is received; they do not freeze one exact scene, and deliverance here is testimony, not a universal safety guarantee.
Teaching children the fear of the LORD, with afflictions still named
Come, O children, listen; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Who desires life and loves many days? Keep the tongue from evil, lips from speaking deceit; turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous; his ears toward their cry. The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off their memory. The righteous cry; the LORD hears and delivers. The LORD is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one is broken. Affliction is many, not none. Nearness to the crushed is the center, not a promise that bones never break in every later sense, and not a taunt against people still inside trouble.
How this should shape us
Boast in the LORD so the humble can hear, not so the safe can gloat. Teach a life of tongue and peace. Stay near broken hearts. Do not turn this poor man's rescue into a rule that the faithful cannot be hurt.
Teach it back
Explain Psalms 34:1–22 in your own words. Name the poetic voice and movement, trace its place in Psalm 34 and Book I, identify one exact source control or uncertainty, and reject one use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible readings differ?
Best judgment: The David-Abimelech heading and acrostic shape guide reception without proving one exact composition scene; deliverance is testimony, not a universal safety guarantee.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Psalms 34:1–22, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 34:1–22
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 34:1–22.
Official NET Bible Psalm 34 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 34:1–22
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: genres, parallelism, and forms; Theological Themes: Torah and human response; applied to Psalms 34:1–22
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 34 for Psalms 34:1–22
Supports: Davidic superscriptions and collection shaping treated as ancient editorial evidence without assuming direct authorship or a recoverable episode.
Botha, 'The role of David,' Verbum et Ecclesia 42.1 (2021), sections 'Davidic superscriptions' and 'Davidic collections'; applied to the heading and editorial placement of Psalm 34
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 34:1–22, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 34:1–22
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 34:1–22.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 34 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 34:1–22
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: genres, parallelism, and forms; Theological Themes: Torah and human response; applied to Psalms 34:1–22
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 34 for Psalms 34:1–22
Open NETS Psalms ↗peer reviewed open access literary and redaction study
The role of David in the composition and redactional grouping of the final Davidic Psalter
Carine H. Botha
Verbum et Ecclesia 42.1, 2021
Supports: Davidic superscriptions and collection shaping treated as ancient editorial evidence without assuming direct authorship or a recoverable episode.
Exact location: Botha, 'The role of David,' Verbum et Ecclesia 42.1 (2021), sections 'Davidic superscriptions' and 'Davidic collections'; applied to the heading and editorial placement of Psalm 34
Open Botha on the Davidic Psalter ↗