Psalms 34

1 I will always thank Yahweh; I will constantly praise him [MTY].

A psalm of David concerning the time he pretended to be mad in front of Abimelech who then sent him away. I will always bless the Lord; my mouth will continually praise him.

2 I will boast about what Yahweh [has done]. All those who are oppressed/discouraged should hear me and rejoice.

From the bottom of my heart I am proud of the Lord; those who are humble will hear and be happy.

3 Join with me in telling others that Yahweh is great! You and I should together proclaim how glorious he is!

Glorify God with me; together let's honor his reputation.

4 I prayed to Yahweh, and he (answered my prayer/did what I asked him to do); he rescued me from [all those who caused me] to be afraid.

I asked the Lord for help, and he answered me. He set me free from all my fears.

5 Those who trust [IDM] that he [will help them] will be joyful; (they will never be disappointed/he will always do for them the things that he promises) [LIT].

The faces of those who look to him will shine with joy; they will never be downcast with shame.

6 I was miserable/helpless, but I called out to Yahweh, and he heard me. He rescued me from all my troubles.

This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard me, and saved me from all my troubles.

7 An angel from Yahweh guards those who revere him, and the angel rescues them.

The angel of the Lord stands guard over all those who honor him, keeping them safe.

8 Find out for yourself, and you will experience that Yahweh is good to you! He is very pleased with those who ask him to protect them.

Taste, and you will see that the Lord is good! How happy are those who trust in his protection!

9 All you who belong to him, revere him! Those who do that will always have the things that they need [LIT].

Show your reverence for the Lord, you who are his holy people, for those who respect him have everything they need.

10 Lions [are usually] very strong, [but sometimes] even young lions are hungry and become weak, but those who trust in Yahweh will (have everything/not lack any good thing) [LIT] [that they need].

Lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who trust in the Lord have all that is good.

11 You (who are my students/whom I teach), come and listen to me, and I will teach you how to revere Yahweh.

Children, listen to me! I will teach you how to respect the Lord.

12 If [RHQ] any of you wants to enjoy life and have a good long life,

Who of you wants to live a long and happy life?

13 do not say anything that is evil! Do not tell lies!

Then don't let your tongue speak evil, or your lips tell lies.

14 Turn away from doing evil, and do what is good! Always try hard to enable people to live peacefully [with each other.]

Reject what is evil, do what is good. Look for peace, and work to make it a reality.

15 Yahweh [MTY] carefully watches over those who [act] righteously; he always responds [MTY] to them when they call [to him for help].

The Lord watches over those who do right, and he hears when they cry for help.

16 But Yahweh [SYN] (is opposed to/turns away from) those who do what is evil. [And after they die], people will forget them completely.

The Lord sets himself against those who do evil. He will wipe out even the memory of them from the earth.

17 Yahweh hears righteous people when they call out to him; he rescues them from all their troubles.

But when his people call out for help, he hears them and rescues them from all their troubles.

18 Yahweh is always ready to help those who are discouraged; he rescues those who have nothing good to hope for.

The Lord is close beside those who are broken-hearted; he saves those whose spirits are crushed.

19 Righteous people may have many troubles, but Yahweh rescues them from all those troubles.

Those who do right have many problems, but the Lord solves all of them.

20 Yahweh protects them from being harmed; [when their enemies attack them], they will not break any bones of those righteous people.

He keeps them safe—not a single one of their bones will be broken.

21 Wicked people will be killed by their own evil deeds (OR, by [people doing to them] the same evil things [that the wicked do to others]) [PRS], and Yahweh will punish those who oppose righteous people.

Evil kills the wicked. Those who hate good people will suffer for their wrongdoing.

22 Yahweh will save those who serve him. He will (not condemn/forgive) [LIT] those who trust in him.

The Lord saves the lives of his servants. Those who trust in his protection will not suffer for their wrongdoings.