Psalm 34 read:
Psalm to David
1 Judge, O Lord, those who offend me, overcome those who fight against me. 2 Take the weapon and the shield, and rise up to help me. 3 Take away the sword and imprison those who persecute me. The words of my soul: I am your salvation. 4 Let those who seek my life be ashamed and put to shame; let those who think evil against me turn back and be ashamed. 5 Let them be like dust before the wind, and the angel of the Lord insulting them. 6 Let their way be dark and creeping, and the Angel of the Lord shall chase them: 7 For I hid the destruction of my net in vain, reproaching my soul in vain. 8 Let a net come to him that is unknown, and a trap that is hidden, embrace him, and let him fall into the net. 9 My soul will rejoice in the Lord, it will rejoice in His salvation. 10 All my bones cry: Lord, Lord, who is like You? Deliver the poor from the hand of those who strong him, and the poor and the wretched from those who plunder him. 11 I stood up as a witness of unrighteousness, even though I knew not, and questioned me. 12 The evil one rewarded me with a good cart, and my soul was desolate. 13 But when I felt cold, I put on sackcloth and humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned to my bosom. 14 As we have pleased our neighbor, as we have pleased our brother, as weeping and lamenting, we have humbled ourselves. 15 And I rejoiced and gathered myself together: I gathered my wounds, and did not know, I was divided, and I was not touched. 16 You have tempted me, you have imitated me with imitations, you have gnashed your teeth at me. 17 Lord, when will you see? Protect my soul from their wickedness, from the lion of my only begotten. 18 I will confess to You in the church among many; I will praise You among the troubled people. 19 Let them not rejoice over me, those who are at enmity with me unjustly, those who hate me, and those who despise me. 20 For I speak peaceably and think flattery against wrath. 21 She opened her mouth against me, saying, “It is good, it is good that our eyes have seen.” 22 You have seen, O Lord, but do not remain silent. Lord, don’t leave me. 23 Arise, O Lord, and bring my judgment, O my God and my Lord, upon my land. 24 Judge me, O Lord, according to Your righteousness, O Lord my God, and let them not rejoice over me. 25 Let them not say in their hearts, “It is good, it is better than our soul,” but let them not say, “By its devouring.” 26 Let those who rejoice in my evil be ashamed and put to shame; let those who speak against me be clothed with shame and shame. 27 Let those who desire my righteousness rejoice and be glad, and let them say, “Glorified be the Lord, who desire peace for His servant.” 28 And my tongue will learn Your righteousness, Your praise all day long.
For the soul...(What helps you live)
All the psalms of the prophet David can be divided into several categories that express the feelings of an Orthodox person. This is both praise and a plea for mercy, for help, and repentance.
Psalm 34 is a psalm that expresses King David's lament for being persecuted by his enemies. In the verses of Psalm 34, the king asks the Lord to deliver him from the ill-wishers who are pursuing him for no reason. For David, the Lord is a warrior and is seen in military garb. The king resorts to His help in the hope that God will shame everyone who wants his death and turn them into dust, carried away by the wind. Verses 5 and 6 of Psalm 34 talk about the guardian angel of the king and the incarnation of Jesus himself, who is a symbol of the just punishment of all who commit lawlessness and bring evil.
PSALM 34 Judge, O Lord, those who offend me, overcome those who fight me. Take the weapon and the shield, and rise to my aid. Take away your sword and imprison those who persecute me. The words of my soul: I am your salvation. Let those who seek my soul be ashamed and put to shame, let those who think evil of me turn back and be ashamed. Let them be like dust before the wind, and the Angel of the Lord insulting them. Let their way be dark and creeping, and the Angel of the Lord chasing them: as if I hid the destruction of my net in vain, I reproached my soul in vain. Let a net come to him, unknown to the south, and a catch, unknown to the south, embrace him, and let him fall into the net. My soul will rejoice in the Lord, it will rejoice in His salvation. All my bones cry: Lord, Lord, who is like You? Deliver the poor from the hand of those who strong him, and the poor and the wretched from those who plunder him. Having stood up as a witness to unrighteousness, even though I did not know, I questioned me. I have rewarded the evil one with a good cart, and the childlessness of my soul. But when I felt the cold, I put on sackcloth and humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned to my bosom. As if we pleased our neighbor, as if we were our brother, as if weeping and lamenting, so we humbled ourselves. And she rejoiced at me and gathered herself together: she gathered at me for her wounds, and did not know, she was divided, and was not touched. Tempt me, imitate me with imitation, grind your teeth on me. Lord, when will you see? Protect my soul from their wickedness, from my only begotten lion. Let us confess to You in the church many, among the troubled people I will praise You. May those who are at enmity unrighteously, those who hate me and those who despise my eyes, not rejoice over me. For I have spoken peaceably and thought of flattery against anger. She widened her mouth at me, saying, “Good, good, what our eyes have seen.” You have seen it, Lord, but do not remain silent. Lord, don't leave me. Arise, O Lord, and bring my judgment, O my God and my Lord, upon my land. Judge me, O Lord, according to Thy righteousness, O Lord my God, and let them not rejoice over me. Let them not say in their hearts: better, better than our soul; let them not say less: his devouring. Let those who rejoice in my evil be ashamed and put to shame, and let those who speak against me be clothed with shame and shame. Let those who want my righteousness rejoice and be glad, and let them say: May the Lord be magnified who want peace for His servant. And my tongue will learn Your righteousness, Your praise all day long.
Text in Russian of Psalm 34
Intercede, O Lord, in litigation with those who litigate with me, overcome those who fight with me; take your shield and armor and rise up to help me; Draw your sword and block the path of those who pursue me; say to my soul: “I am your salvation!” Let those who seek my soul be ashamed and disgraced; may those who plot evil against me turn back and be covered with dishonor; let them be as dust before the wind, and let the Angel of the Lord drive them away; Let their path be dark and slippery, and let the Angel of the Lord pursue them, for without guilt they hid a hole for me - their net, without guilt they dug it for my soul. May unexpected destruction come upon him, and may his net, which he hid for me, catch him; let him fall into it to destruction. And my soul will rejoice in the Lord, it will rejoice in salvation from Him. All my bones will say: “Lord! Who is like You, who delivers the weak from the strong, the poor and needy from their plunderer?” Unrighteous witnesses have arisen against me: what I do not know, they interrogate me; They reward me with evil for good, with orphanhood for my soul. During their illness, I dressed myself in sackcloth, exhausted my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned to my bosom. I acted as if I were my friend, my brother; I walked mournfully, with my head bowed, as if mourning my mother. And when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together; Scolders gathered against me, I don’t know why, they vilified me and didn’t stop; with hypocritical scoffers they gnashed their teeth at me. God! How long will you look at this? Take my soul away from their atrocities, take my lonely soul away from the lions. I will glorify You in a great assembly, among a large people I will praise You, so that those who are unjustly hostile against me do not triumph over me, and those who hate me innocently do not wink at each other; for they do not speak of peace, but form evil plans against the peaceful of the earth; They widen their mouth against me; they say: “okay! Fine! our eyes have seen.” You have seen, Lord, do not remain silent; God! don't move away from me. Move, awaken for my judgment, for my litigation, my God and my Lord! Judge me according to Thy righteousness, O Lord my God, and let them not triumph over me; Let them not say in their hearts: “Good! Fine! according to our souls! Let them not say, “We have devoured him.” Let all who rejoice in my misfortune be ashamed and disgraced; let those who magnify themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace. Let those who desire my righteousness rejoice and be glad and say continually: “May the Lord be magnified, who desires peace for His servant!” And my tongue will preach Your righteousness and Your praise every day.
Psalm 34 in Russian:
Psalm of David. 1 Intercede, O Lord, in litigation with those who litigate against me, overcome those who fight with me; 2 Take your shield and armor and rise up to help me; 3 Draw your sword and block the path of those who pursue me; say to my soul: “I am your salvation!” 4 Let those who seek my life be ashamed and put to shame; may those who plot evil against me turn back and be covered with dishonor; 5 Let them be as dust before the wind, and let the angel of the Lord drive them away; 6 Let their path be dark and slippery, and let the angel of the Lord pursue them, 7 for without guilt they hid their snare for me, without guilt they dug it for my soul. 8 Let unexpected destruction come upon him, and let his net, which he hid for me, catch him; let him fall into it to destruction. 9 But my soul will rejoice in the Lord, it will rejoice in salvation from Him. 10 All my bones will say: “Lord! Who is like You, who delivers the weak from the strong, the poor and needy from their plunderer?” 11 Unrighteous witnesses have arisen against me: what I do not know, they question me about it; 12 They repay me with evil for good, with orphanhood for my soul. 13 When they were sick, I dressed myself in sackcloth, and overcame my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned to my bosom. 14 I acted as if I were my friend, my brother; I walked mournfully, with my head bowed, as if mourning my mother. 15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together; Scolders gathered against me, I don’t know why, they vilified me and didn’t stop; 16 with the hypocritical scoffers gnashed their teeth at me. 17 Lord! How long will you look at this? Take my soul away from their atrocities, take my lonely soul away from the lions. 18 I will glorify You in a great assembly, among a large people I will praise You, 19 So that those who are hostile against me unrighteously will not triumph over me, and those who hate me innocently will not wink at each other; 20 For they do not speak of peace, but form evil plans against the peaceful of the earth; 21 They enlarge their mouth against me; they say: “okay! Fine! our eyes have seen.” 22 You have seen, O Lord, do not remain silent; God! don't move away from me. 23 Move, awaken to my judgment, to my litigation, my God and my Lord! 24 Judge me according to Thy righteousness, O Lord my God, and let them not triumph over me; 25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Good! [good!] to our liking!” Let them not say, “We have devoured him.” 26 Let all who rejoice in my misfortune be ashamed and put to shame; let those who magnify themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace. 27 Let those who desire my righteousness rejoice and be glad and say continually: “May the Lord be magnified, who desires peace for His servant!” 28 And my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness and Your praise every day.
Psalm of David 34: “Judge, O Lord, those who wrong me.”
1 Intercede, O Lord, in litigation with those who litigate against me, overcome those who fight with me;
2 Take your shield and armor and rise up to help me;
3 Draw your sword and block the path of those who pursue me; say to my soul: “I am your salvation!”
4 Let those who seek my life be ashamed and put to shame; may those who plot evil against me turn back and be covered with dishonor;
5 Let them be as dust before the wind, and let the angel of the Lord drive them away;
6 Let their way be dark and slippery, and let the angel of the Lord pursue them,
7 For without guilt they hid their snare for me; without guilt they dug it for my soul.
8 Let unexpected destruction come upon him, and let his net, which he hid for me, catch him; let him fall into it to destruction.
9 But my soul will rejoice in the Lord, it will rejoice in salvation from Him.
10 All my bones will say: “Lord! Who is like You, who delivers the weak from the strong, the poor and needy from their plunderer?”
11 Unrighteous witnesses have arisen against me: what I do not know, they question me about it;
12 They repay me with evil for good, with orphanhood for my soul.
13 When they were sick, I dressed myself in sackcloth, and overcame my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned to my bosom.
14 I acted as if I were my friend, my brother; I walked mournfully, with my head bowed, as if mourning my mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together; Scolders gathered against me, I don’t know why, they vilified me and didn’t stop;
16 with the hypocritical scoffers gnashed their teeth at me.
17 Lord! How long will you look at this? Take my soul away from their atrocities, take my lonely soul away from the lions.
18 I will glorify You in a great congregation, I will praise You among a great people,
19 So that those who are hostile against me unjustly do not triumph over me, and those who hate me innocently do not wink at each other;
20 For they do not speak of peace, but form evil plans against the peaceful of the earth;
21 They enlarge their mouth against me; they say: “okay! Fine! our eyes have seen.”
22 You have seen, O Lord, do not remain silent; God! don't move away from me.
23 Move, awaken to my judgment, to my litigation, my God and my Lord!
24 Judge me according to Thy righteousness, O Lord my God, and let them not triumph over me;
25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Good! [good!] to our liking!” Let them not say, “We have devoured him.”
26 Let all who rejoice in my misfortune be ashamed and put to shame; let those who magnify themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace.
27 Let those who desire my righteousness rejoice and be glad and say continually: “May the Lord be magnified, who desires peace for His servant!”
28 And my tongue will preach Your righteousness and Your praise every day.
Psalm 34 listen:
Read the Psalter
The psalm belongs to David and was written during persecution from Saul. David speaks here of his complete innocence before God and the undeservedness of persecution; his enemies sought to take his life and plotted against him. “Enter, O Lord, into litigation with those who litigate against me” (in Russian translation) - the image is borrowed from human court, where each party was given the right to prove their innocence by the facts of their activities. David confesses that the strictest court will not find such guilt in him and will not acquit his enemies.
