Psalm 34

In Praise of God’s Goodness^+e

34 I will always thank the Lord;

I will never stop praising him.

²I will praise him for what he has done;

may all who are oppressed listen and be glad!

³Proclaim with me the Lord’s greatness;

let us praise his name together!

⁴I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me;

he freed me from all my fears.

⁵The oppressed look to him and are glad;

they will never be disappointed.

⁶The helpless call to him, and he answers;

he saves them from all their troubles.

⁷His angel guards those who honour the Lord

and rescues them from danger.

^8*Find out for yourself how good the Lord is.

Happy are those who find safety with him.

⁹Honour the Lord, all his people;

those who obey him have all they need.

¹⁰Even lions go hungry for lack of food,

but those who obey the Lord lack nothing good.

¹¹Come, my young friends, and listen to me,

and I will teach you to honour the Lord.

^12*Would you like to enjoy life?

Do you want long life and happiness?

^13*Then hold back from speaking evil

and from telling lies.

^14*Turn away from evil and do good;

strive for peace with all your heart.

^15*The Lord watches over the righteous

and listens to their cries;

^16*but he opposes those who do evil,

so that when they die, they are soon forgotten.

¹⁷The righteous call to the Lord, and he listens;

he rescues them from all their troubles.

¹⁸The Lord is near to those who are discouraged;

he saves those who have lost all hope.

¹⁹Good people suffer many troubles,

but the Lord saves them from them all;

^20*the Lord preserves them completely;

not one of their bones is broken.

²¹Evil will kill the wicked;

those who hate the righteous will be punished.

²²The Lord will save his people;

those who go to him for protection will be spared.