Mazmur 34:15-18

34:15 The Lord pays attention to the godly

and hears their cry for help. ¹ 

34:16 But the Lord opposes evildoers

and wipes out all memory of them from the earth. ² 

34:17 The godly ³  cry out and the Lord hears;

he saves them from all their troubles. ⁴ 

34:18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;

he delivers ⁵  those who are discouraged. ⁶ 

[34:15]  ¹ tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord [are] toward the godly, and his ears [are] toward their cry for help.”

[34:16]  ² tn Heb “the face of the Lord [is] against the doers of evil to cut off from the earth memory of them.”

[34:17]  ³ tn Heb “they” (i.e., the godly mentioned in v. 15).

[34:17]  ⁴ tn The three perfect verbal forms are taken in a generalizing sense in v. 17 and translated with the present tense (note the generalizing mood of vv. 18-22).

[34:18]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the Lord typically delivers the oppressed and needy.

[34:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “the crushed in spirit.”