Psalm 34 is the 34th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "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, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate 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. 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 refers to the king as Achish, not Abimelech; however "Abimelech" may merely be a title, literally meaning "father of a king." The psalm is an acrostic poem in the Hebrew alphabet, one of a series of songs of thanksgiving. It is the first Psalm which describes angels (mal’āḵîm) as guardians of the righteous. The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has inspired hymns based on it, and has been set to music.

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

King James Version

Structure

The psalm could be structured in the following manner: It is an acrostic poem in the Hebrew alphabet, with each letter beginning a verse in sequential order; the lone exception is waw, which begins the second clause of verse six. The first and last verses are outside the acrostic scheme. The Old Testament scholar Hermann Gunkel 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, with which it has many similarities.

Verse 11

The psalmist is now "teacher"; "children" is the customary term for students in wisdom literature.

Uses

Judaism

New Testament

Some verses of Psalm 34 are referenced in the New Testament: Schmeling, in his study for Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary, examines Psalm 34:20, which declares that the bones of the righteous remain unbroken, possibly in a symbolic sense for the redeemed counted as righteous. Jesus, being the epitome of righteousness, may be viewed with a more literal application of this idea where his bones were not broken at the cross in a Christian perspective. Additionally, the observation is made that the bones of the Passover lamb were also not broken.

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

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz 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. Several musical settings focus on the verse 8, "Taste and see", which is suitable as music for the Eucharist. Vaughan Williams set it, titled "O taste and see", for soprano and mixed choir with organ introduction, for the Coronation of Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. It was included as No. 3 of the 2015 album Psalms II by Shane & Shane, and as No. of the 2017 album Fractures by Sons of Korah.