Psalm 34:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

NIV: Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

NASB: Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

CSB: Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

NLT: Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the Lord.

KJV: Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

NKJV: Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

David invites young people to receive instruction from him. In ancient writing, students were sometimes referred to as children, or sons. His lesson here is what it means to "fear" God and the results of that approach. In a biblical context, "fear" of God does not mean dread, but a worshipful respect.

The Bible instructs fathers to teach their children about God and His ways. In Deuteronomy 6, Moses informed the fathers of Israel of their duty to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and might, to teach the law of the Lord diligently to their children, and to talk about His law throughout each day (Deuteronomy 6:4–7). In Proverbs 1:7 Solomon says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." In the following verse he addresses his son—or, possibly, a student—imploring him, "hear, my son, your father's instruction" (Proverbs 1:8).

The New Testament likewise instructs fathers to educate their children in God's ways. Ephesians 6:4 says, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Fathers who lavish material goods on their children but withhold spiritual instruction fail to provide what counts most in life: instruction about the fear of the Lord.

Psalm 34:8–14 invites others to experience the Lord's goodness. David has just praised the Lord for delivering him from the Philistines at Gath (1 Samuel 21:10–15). Now, he celebrates what God does for those who fear Him: He gives His people happiness; He protects them; He provides bountifully for them; and He grants them long life.

David praises the Lord for delivering him from the Philistines, and he invites others to join him in singing joyfully to the Lord. He extols the virtue of fearing the Lord and remembering His goodness. He encourages the Lord's people to respect God and offers wisdom leading to a long and blessed life. At the end of this psalm David emphasizes the distinction the Lord draws between the wicked and the righteous. He cares for the righteous and will not condemn them, but He condemns the wicked.

David composed this psalm after he escaped from the Philistines at Gath. He accomplished this by feigning insanity and later sheltered in the cave of Adullum. This experience is recorded in 1 Samuel 21:10—22:1. Like Psalm 25, this is an acrostic psalm. Every verse except the final one begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. First Peter 2:3 alludes to the psalm's eighth verse, and 1 Peter 3:10–12 quotes verses 12–16 of Psalm 34. John 19:36 refers to Psalm 34:20.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.