The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
- KJV The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
- NKJV The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
- NASB The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
- NLT The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Overview
This tender verse promises God's nearness to those broken and crushed by grief or sin. Far from despising the contrite, God draws close to save them. This comfort is fulfilled in Christ, who came to bind up the brokenhearted and is near to all who mourn.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 147:3He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
- Ps 145:18The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
- Isa 57:15For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.
- Isa 61:1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
- Ps 51:17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
- Ezek 36:26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
- Isa 66:2Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.
- Ps 85:9Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land.
- Luke 4:18“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
- Isa 55:6Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Ps 119:151You are near, O LORD, and all Your commandments are true.
- 2 Kgs 22:19because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its people, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have heard you,’ declares the LORD.
- Ezek 36:31Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and abominations.
- Ps 75:1For the choirmaster: To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A song. We give thanks to You, O God; we give thanks, for Your Name is near. The people declare Your wondrous works.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 34:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.