Psalm 34:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

NIV: Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

NASB: They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed.

CSB: Those who look to him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed.

NLT: Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.

KJV: They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

NKJV: They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.

Those who seek the Lord in prayer are described as "radiant." The root word in Hebrew is nahar, which indicates cheerfulness; another possible English translation is "beaming." The same word is found in Isaiah 60:5, used to describe Israel's joy at seeing her sons and daughters returning to the homeland.

There is no reason to be downcast if we look to the Lord in prayer. In Psalm 42:3 the psalmist describes his depression. He says, "My tears have been my food day and night," and he describes his soul as "cast down" (Psalm 42:5, 6, 11), but then he decides to talk to God and place his hope in Him. The result is praise instead of pity (Psalm 42:11).

David adds in Psalm 34:5 that those who look to the Lord will have faces that "shall never be ashamed." This expression means their faces will never blush. If we take our eyes off of the Lord we may commit an embarrassing sin, but if we keep our eyes on the Lord, we will never be defined by our shame (1 Peter 2:6; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

Psalm 34:1–7 expresses David's determination to extoll God constantly. He invites the humble to hear his praise and join him in magnifying the Lord. God answered David's prayer for deliverance; this is probably about David's escape from the Philistine king, Abimelech (1 Samuel 21:10–15). Thanks to this and other experiences, David is confident the Lord protects and delivers all who fear Him.

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.

Accessed 5/3/2024 4:06:49 PM