Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 34:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 34:18: Within “Alphabetic praise learned through deliverance,” the line “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken…” supplies one distinct parallel claim, image, address, or response.
A poor man's cry taught as an alphabet of praise
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 34:1–22. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 34:1–22
Read Psalms 34:18 with 34:1–22. Read alone, “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart” could lose the individual voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 34:1–22, the individual voice carries the movement “Alphabetic praise learned through deliverance” as part of “Alphabetic praise learned through deliverance.” Its acrostic-thanksgiving form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 34:1–22 opens Psalm 34 with “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” and establishes the individual voice and “Alphabetic praise learned through deliverance” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Within that relationship, Psalm 34:18 develops the poem's imagery or comparison through “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,” whose force comes from the parallel line and whole unit.
Follow the Context
- Identify the individual voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 34:1–22; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 34:1–22, the individual voice carries the movement “Alphabetic praise learned through deliverance” as part of “Alphabetic praise learned through deliverance.” Its acrostic-thanksgiving form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
- This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The David-Abimelech heading and acrostic shape guide reception without proving one exact composition scene; deliverance is testimony, not a universal safety guarantee.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“broken heart”
In plain language: The image names people crushed by suffering and contrition; divine nearness does not turn severe distress into a virtue or replace practical, clinical, communal, or crisis care.
In Psalms 34:18, “broken heart” belongs to the complete movement Psalms 34:1–22 and the whole of Psalm 34.
Why it matters: This wording materially affects the verse's meaning, translation, later reception, or responsible application.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 34:18 does not allow “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse develops the poem's imagery or comparison through “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,” whose force comes from the parallel line and whole unit. The complete movement is “Alphabetic praise learned through deliverance.” This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The David-Abimelech heading and acrostic shape guide reception without proving one exact composition scene; deliverance is testimony, not a universal safety guarantee.
What Remains True
Because this verse serves “Alphabetic praise learned through deliverance,” its enduring claim is proportionate: Biblical faith can speak unresolved pain directly, remain in relationship, seek safe help, and refuse the claim that anguish proves guilt or failed faith. Psalm 34:18 develops the poem's imagery or comparison through “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,” whose force comes from the parallel line and whole unit. The local movement is “Alphabetic praise learned through deliverance.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The David-Abimelech heading and acrostic shape guide reception without proving one exact composition scene; deliverance is testimony, not a universal safety guarantee.
How It Can Shape Life
- The practice should match “Alphabetic praise learned through deliverance” rather than an isolated slogan. Psalm 34:18 develops the poem's imagery or comparison through “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,” whose force comes from the parallel line and whole unit. Therefore, Use “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart” to practice honest prayer without diagnosing the sufferer, imposing a recovery deadline, or treating unresolved grief as weak faith.
Teach It Back
Build a short teaching of Psalm 34:18: quote “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,” summarize “Alphabetic praise learned through deliverance,” show the line's role, cite the checked context, preserve one alternative, derive a safe practice, and make this negation explicit: This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The David-Abimelech heading and acrostic shape guide reception without proving one exact composition scene; deliverance is testimony, not a universal safety guarantee.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 34:1–22 — Alphabetic praise learned through deliveranceSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The David-Abimelech heading and acrostic shape guide reception without proving one exact composition scene; deliverance is testimony, not a universal safety guarantee.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 ↗