Psalms 34:17
in Psalms 34The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The righteous cried, and Jehovah heard, And delivered them out of all their troubles.
KJV
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
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This verse in Psalms 34
Commentary
12 notes on this verseThe cry of the just is a spiritual one, having its loudness in the secret recess of the heart, able to reach even to the ears of God.… They sought after nothing petty, nothing earthly, nothing lowly. For this reason the Lord received their voice, and he delivered them from all their tribulations, not so much freeing them from their troubles as making them victorious over the circumstances.
This site's exposition
His ears are inclined
on Psalms 34:15-18
Eyes, ears and face divide the LORD's attention, on the righteous and against those who do evil. Verse 17 makes the cry of verse 6 a standing rule, heard whenever the righteous cry out. Verse 18 puts Him nearest the brokenhearted.
This site's exposition
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears
Adam Clarke observed that the Hebrew text as it stands has no word for righteous, though every ancient version keeps it. He thought it dropped out beside the similar verb for cry. Basil of Caesarea read the deliverance as victory over troubles.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles" [Psalm 34:17]. Righteous were the Three Children; out of the furnace cried they unto the Lord, and in His praises their flames cooled. The flame could not approach nor hurt the innocent and righteous Children praising God, and He delivered them out of the fire. [Daniel 3:28] Some one says, Lo, truly righteous were those who were heard, as it is written, "The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their troubles:" but I have cried, and He delivers me not; either I am not righteous, or I do not the things which He commands me, or haply He sees me not. Fear not: only do what He commands; and if He deliver you not bodily, He will deliver you spiritually. For He who took out of the fire the Three Children, did He take out of the fire the Maccabees? [2 Maccabbees 7:3] Did not the first sing hymns in the flames, these last in the flames expire? The God of the Three Children, was not He the God also of the Maccabees? The one He delivered, the other He delivered not. Nay, He delivered both: but the Three Children He so delivered, that even the carnal were confounded; but the Maccabees therefore He delivered not so, that those who persecuted them should go into greater torments, while they thought that they had overcome God's Martyrs. He delivered Peter, when the Angel came unto him being in prison, and said, "Arise, and go forth," [Acts 12:7] and suddenly his chains were loosed, and he followed the Angel, and He delivered him. Had Peter lost righteousness when He delivered him not from the cross? Did He not deliver him then? Even then He delivered him. Did his long life make him unrighteous? Haply He heard him more at last than at first, when truly He delivered him out of all his troubles. […]
What then do we say about the martyrs, since it is well known that they were not freed from the torments of the tyrants? They were certainly set free when they were conducted to the kingdom of heaven; they were plainly released from all their …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then when he says, "The just cried out," the effect of divine providence is presented. And first, with regard to the good. Second, with regard to the wicked, at "The death of sinners." Concerning the first he does two things. First, he shows how the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Though he has been a God hearing prayer ever since men began to call upon the name of the Lord, yet his ear is not heavy. There is no rhetoric, nothing charming, in a cry, yet God's ears are open to it, as the tender mother's to the cry of her sucking child, which another would take no notice of: The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth,
This intimates that it is the constant practice of good people, when they are in distress, to cry unto God, and it is their constant comfort that God hears them. [2.] He not only takes notice of what we say, but is ready for us to our relief (
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4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The righteous cry,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
The righteous cry. Like Israel in Egypt, they cry out under the heavy yoke of oppression, both of sin, temptation, care, and grief. And the Lord heareth; he is like the night watchman, who no sooner hears the alarm bell than he flies to relieve those who need him. And delivereth them out of all their troubles. No net of trouble can so hold us that the Lord cannot free us. Our afflictions may be numerous and complicated, but prayer can set us free from them all, for the Lord will show himself strong on our behalf.
The righteous cry - There is no word in the present Hebrew text for righteous; but all the versions preserve it. I suppose it was lost through its similitude to the word צעקו tsaaku, they cry צעקו צדיקים tsaaku tsaddikim, the righteous cry.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth - That is, one of the advantages or benefits of being righteous is the privilege of crying unto God, or of calling on his name, with the assurance that he will hear and deliver us. No one has ever yet fully appreciated the “privilege” of being permitted to call upon God; the privilege of prayer. There is no blessing conferred upon man in his present state superior to this; and no one can fully understand the force of the argument derived from this in favor of the service of God. What a world would this be - how sad, how helpless, how wretched - if there were no God to whom the guilty, the suffering, and the sorrowful might come; if God were a Being who never heard prayer at all; if he were a capricious Being who might or might not hear prayer; if He were a Being governed by fitful emotions, who would now hear the righteous, and then the wicked, and then neither, and who dispensed His favors in answer to prayer by no certain rule! And delivereth them out of all their troubles - (1) He often delivers them from trouble in this life in answer to prayer. (2) he will deliver them literally from all trouble in the life to come. The promise is not indeed, that they shall be delivered from all trouble on earth, but the idea is that God is able to rescue them from trouble here; that He often does it in answer to prayer; and that there will be, in the case of every righteous person, a sure and complete deliverance from all trouble hereafter. Compare the notes at Psa 34:6: see Psa 34:19.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| צָעֲק֣וּ | tzaaku | they cry out | H6817 → | 55 times |
| וַיהוָ֣ה | vayahweh | and Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שָׁמֵ֑עַ | shamea' | he hears | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וּמִכָּל־ | umikol- | and from all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| צָ֝רוֹתָ֗ם | tzarotam | troubles their | H6869 → | 73 times |
| הִצִּילָֽם׃ | hitzilam | he delivers them | H5337 → | 212 times |
צָעֲק֣וּthey cry out
tzaakuH6817 →55 times
וַיהוָ֣הand Yahweh
vayahwehH3068 →6520 times
שָׁמֵ֑עַhe hears
shamea'H8085 →1159 times
וּמִכָּל־and from all
umikol-H3605 →5413 times
צָ֝רוֹתָ֗םtroubles their
tzarotamH6869 →73 times
הִצִּילָֽם׃he delivers them
hitzilamH5337 →212 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 65:24Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
it leads to
- Daniel 10:12
“Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response…
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
- Isaiah 58:9
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and…
- Daniel 10:12
Through
Psalms 34:19Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 4:12–13
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
- Psalms 34:6
This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- 2 Corinthians 4:17
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
- John 16:33
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
- 1 Peter 4:12–13
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 34; Basil of Caesarea, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 16:12 (PS 34); Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms; Cassiodorus, Explanation of the Psalms; Cassiodorus, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 34:18; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.