Psalm 34*

David’s {song} from the time David acted crazy so Abimelech would send him away. In this way, David left him.

¹I bless the Lord all the time. His praise is always on my lips. ²Humble people, listen and be happy while I brag about the Lord. ³Praise God with me! Let’s honor his name. ⁴I went to God for help. And he listened. He saved me from all the things I fear. ⁵Look to God for help. You will be accepted. Don’t be ashamed.* ⁶This poor man called to the Lord for help. And the Lord heard me. He saved me from all my troubles. ⁷The Lord’s angel builds a camp around the people that follow him. The Lord’s angel protects those people. ⁸Taste the Lord and see how good he is. The person that depends on the Lord will be truly happy. ⁹The Lord’s holy people should worship him. There is no other place of safety for the Lord’s followers. ¹⁰Powerful people will become weak and hungry. But the people that go to God for help will have every good thing. ¹¹Children, listen to me, and I will teach you to respect the Lord. ¹²If a person loves life and wants to live a good, long life, ¹³then that person must not say bad things; that person must not tell lies. ¹⁴Stop doing bad things! Do good things. Work for peace. Run after peace until you catch it. ¹⁵The Lord protects good people. He hears their prayers. ¹⁶But the Lord is against people that do bad things. He destroys them completely! ¹⁷Pray to the Lord and he will hear you. He will save you from all your troubles. ¹⁸When some people have troubles they stop being proud. The Lord is close to those humble people. He will save them.* ¹⁹Good people might have many problems, but the Lord will save them from every one of their problems. ²⁰The Lord will protect all their bones. Not one bone will be broken. ²¹But troubles will kill evil people. The enemies of good people will all be destroyed. ²²The Lord saves the souls of his servants. Those people depend on him. He won’t let them be destroyed.

Psalm 34 In Hebrew, each verse in this psalm begins with the next letter of the alphabet. You will be accepted … be ashamed Literally, “Look at him and shine. Don’t let your face be pale.” When some … save them Literally, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. He saves people with crushed spirits.”

Psalm 35

David’s {song}*

¹Lord, fight my battles. Fight my wars! ²Lord, pick up the shield and buckler.* Get up and help me. ³Take a spear and javelin* and fight the people that are chasing me. Lord, tell my soul, “I will save you.” ⁴Some people are trying to kill me. Disappoint them and make them ashamed. Make them turn and run away. Those people are planning to hurt me. {Defeat them and} embarrass them. ⁵Make those people be like chaff* blown by the wind.* Let them be chased by the Lord’s angel. ⁶Lord, make their road dark and slippery. Let the Lord’s angel chase them. ⁷I did nothing wrong, but those people tried to trap me. For no reason at all, they tried to trap me. ⁸So, Lord, let them fall into their own traps. Let them stumble into their own nets. Let some unknown danger catch them. ⁹Then I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be happy when he saves me. ¹⁰With my whole self I will say, “Lord, there is no one like you. You save a poor person from people that are stronger. You take things from strong people, and you give those things to that poor, helpless person.” ¹¹A group of witnesses* are planning to hurt me. Those people will ask me questions that I know nothing about. ¹²I have done only good things. But those people will do bad things to me. {Lord,} give me the good things I deserve. ¹³When those people were sick, I was sad for them. I showed my sadness by not eating. Is this what I get for praying for them? ¹⁴I wore clothes of sadness for those people. I treated those people like my friends or even like brothers. I was sad, like a man crying because his mother had died. I wore black clothes to show my sadness for those people. I walked with my head bowed in sadness. ¹⁵But when I made a mistake,* those people laughed at me. Those people were not really friends. I didn’t even know them. But they surrounded me and attacked me. ¹⁶They used bad language and made fun of me. Those people showed they were angry at me by grinding their teeth. ¹⁷My Master, how long will you watch these bad things happen? Those people are trying to destroy me. Lord, save my life. Save my dear life from those bad people. They are like lions. ¹⁸Lord, I will praise you in the great assembly. I will praise you when I am with the powerful people. ¹⁹My lying enemies will not keep laughing. Surely my enemies will be punished for their secret plans.* ²⁰My enemies are not really making plans for peace. They are secretly making plans to do bad things to the peaceful people in this country. ²¹My enemies are saying bad things about me. {They tell lies and say,} “Aha! We know what you are doing!” ²²Lord, surely you can see what is happening. So don’t keep quiet. Don’t leave me. ²³Lord, wake up! Get up! My God and my Lord, fight for me, and bring me justice. ²⁴Lord my God, judge me with your fairness. Don’t let those people laugh at me. ²⁵Don’t let those people say, “Aha! We got what we wanted!” Lord, don’t let them say, “We destroyed him!” ²⁶I hope that all my enemies will be ashamed and embarrassed. Those people were happy when bad things happened to me. They thought they were better than me! So let those people be covered with shame and humiliation. ²⁷Some people want good things to happen to me. I hope those people will be very happy! Those people always say, “The Lord is great! He wants what is best for his servant.” ²⁸So Lord, I tell people how good you are. I praise you every day.

David’s {song} Or “{Dedicated} to David” buckler A shield large enough to protect the whole body. javelin A weapon like a spear. chaff Seed coverings and stems separated from the seeds of plants like wheat or barley. Farmers did not keep this useless chaff. wind This may be a word play, because the Hebrew word also means “Spirit.” witnesses People who tell about things they have seen or heard. Here, these people were probably telling lies. made a mistake Literally, “stumbled.” Surely… plans Literally, “Will the people who hate me freely wink their eyes?”

Psalm 36

To the director.* To the servant of the Lord. To David.

¹A bad person does a very bad thing when he says to himself, “I will not fear and respect God.” ²That person lies to himself. That person does not see his own faults. So he does not ask for forgiveness. ³His words are only worthless lies. He does not become wise or learn to do good. ⁴At night, he plans worthless things. He gets up and does nothing good. But he doesn‘t refuse to do evil. ⁵Lord, your true love is higher than the sky. Your loyalty is higher than the clouds. ⁶Lord, your goodness is higher than the highest mountain.* Your fairness is deeper than the deepest ocean. Lord, you protect man and animals. ⁷Nothing is more precious than your loving kindness. People and angels* come to you for protection. ⁸Lord, they get new strength from the good things in your house. You let them drink from your wonderful river. ⁹Lord, the fountain of life flows from you! Your light lets us see light. ¹⁰Lord, continue to love those people that truly know you. And do good things for those people that are true to you.* ¹¹Lord, don’t let proud people trap me. Don’t let me be caught by evil people. ¹²{Put this on their grave markers:} “Here fell the wicked people. They were crushed. They will never stand up again.”

director Or, “performer.” the highest mountain Literally, “El’s Mountain.” This might be a special mountain in Syria or “God’s Mountain,” the place where God meets with his angels. angels Or, “gods” or “powerful people.” true to you Or, “honest hearted.”