Psalm 34 is the 34th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

: "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth." The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

and Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 33. In Latin, it is known as "Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore". Psalm 34 is attributed to

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. The Psalm's subtitle, ''A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed'', derives from when David was living with the Philistines, but the account of this event in

1 Samuel 21 1 Samuel 21 is the twenty-first chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet ...

refers to the king as Achish, not Abimelech. The psalm is an acrostic poem in the

Hebrew Alphabet The Hebrew alphabet ( he, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewi ...

, one of a series of songs of thanksgiving. It is the first Psalm which describes

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

s as guardians of the righteous. The psalm forms a regular part of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has inspired hymns based on it, and has been set to music.

Text

Hebrew Bible version

Following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 34:

King James Version

# I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. # My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. # O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. # I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. # They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. # This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. #The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. # O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. # O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. # The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. # Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. # What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? # Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. # Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. # The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. # The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. # The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. # The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. # Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. # He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. # Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. # The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Structure

The psalm could be structured in the following manner:Corinne Lanoir in Römer, Macchi et Nihan 2009, p. 346. # Vers 2-4: Hymn introduction # Vers 5: Basic praising, preaching the fate of the Psalmist # Vers 6-11: teaching, which is evident from his fate # Vers 12-22: didactic poem 1 # Vers 13-15: Question - answer: # Vers 16-22: Collection of wise sayings. It is an acrostic poem in the

, with each letter of the Hebrew alphabet beginning a verse in sequential order; the lone exception is waw ( ו ), which begins the second clause of verse six. Verse 22, the concluding statement, begins with pe, outside the acrostic scheme. The Old Testament scholar

Hermann Gunkel Hermann Gunkel (23 May 1862 – 11 March 1932), a German Old Testament scholar, founded form criticism. He also became a leading representative of the history of religions school. His major works cover Genesis and the Psalms, and his major in ...

felt that the acrostic nature of the Psalm made any historical, or theological analysis impossible. This psalm is an acrostic of confidence, as is

Psalm 25 Psalm 25 is the 25th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old T ...

, with which it has many similarities.

Verse 11

:''Come, you children, listen to me; :''I will teach you the fear of the Lord.'' The psalmist is now "teacher"; "children" is the customary term for students in

wisdom literature Wisdom literature is a genre of literature common in the ancient Near East. It consists of statements by sages and the wise that offer teachings about divinity and virtue. Although this genre uses techniques of traditional oral storytelling, it w ...

Uses

Judaism

* Psalm 34 is recited in its entirety during Pesukei Dezimra on Shabbat,

Yom Tov Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

, and - in many communities - on Hoshana Rabbah. *Verse 4 is recited when the Torah scroll is taken out of the Torah ark, ark. * Verses 10-11 are recited by Ashkenazim as part of the final paragraph of

Birkat Hamazon Birkat Hamazon ( he, בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוׂן, The Blessing of the Food), known in English as the Grace After Meals ( yi, ; translit. ''bentschen'' or "to bless", Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew blessings that Jewish ...

. * Verses 14-15 form the basis for part of the closing paragraph of the Amidah.

New Testament

Some verses of Psalm 34 are referenced in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

: * Verse 8 is quoted by St. Peter in

1 Peter The First Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament. The author presents himself as Peter the Apostle. The ending of the letter includes a statement that implies that it was written from " Babylon", which is possibly a reference to Rome ...

. * Verses 12-16 are cited in

. * Verse 18 is paraphrased in Matthew 5:3. * Verse 20 is alluded to in

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Catholicism

According to the Rule of St. Benedict around 530, this psalm was traditionally sung at the office of Matins on Mondays in monasteries. Currently, in the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the ...

, Psalm 34 is recited on Saturdays in the first and third weeks of the four weekly cycle of readings and for the holy celebrations. It is often used as a responsorial psalm.

Book of Common Prayer

In the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

's ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

'', this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the sixth day of the month.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...

composed a choral setting on a German metred paraphrase of Psalm 34, "Ich will bei meinem Leben rühmen den Herren mein", as part of the ''

Becker Psalter The ''Becker Psalter'' is a German metrical psalter authored by the Leipzig theologian Cornelius Becker and first published by Jakob Apel in Leipzig in 1602 under the title ''Der Psalter Davids Gesangweis''. Several composers set the psalms cont ...

''. Several musical settings focus on the verse 8, "Taste and see", which is suitable as music for the Eucharist.

Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

set it, titled "O taste and see", for soprano and mixed choir with organ introduction, for the

Coronation of Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. It was included as No. 3 of the 2015 album '' Psalms II'' by

Shane & Shane Shane & Shane is a Texas-based contemporary worship music band known for acoustic praise and worship music. The band consists of Shane Barnard (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Shane Everett (vocals). They are often joined by their drummer and manag ...

, and as No. of the 2017 album '' Fractures'' by Sons of Korah.

References

External links

* *
Psalms Chapter 39
text in Hebrew and English, mechon-mamre.org
Psalm 34 – Praise from the Cave
text and detailed commentary, enduringword.com
Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him out and he went away. / I will bless the LORD at all times; / his praise shall be always in my mouth
text and footnotes, usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 34 / Refrain: O taste and see that the Lord is gracious.

Psalm 34
at biblegateway.com
Hymns for Psalm 34
hymnary.org
Recording of a slow tune to verses 12-14
{{Jewish prayers 034 Shacharit for Shabbat and Yom Tov Works attributed to David