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My soul will make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice.
Psalms 34:2 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB My soul shall boast in Yahweh. The humble shall hear of it, and be glad.
  • KJV My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
  • BSB My soul boasts in the LORD; let the oppressed hear and rejoice.
  • NKJV My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
  • NLT I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart.

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

David boasts in the Lord, and the humble hear it and are glad.

Overview

Rather than boasting in himself, David glories in the Lord, and his testimony gladdens the lowly. The humble find encouragement in God's faithfulness to others. Such God-centered boasting points to glorying in the cross, the only ground of the Christian's confidence.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Jer 9:24But let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am Yahweh who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight,” says Yahweh.
  • 1 Cor 1:31that, according as it is written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”
  • Ps 119:74Those who fear you will see me and be glad, because I have put my hope in your word.
  • Ps 44:8In God we have made our boast all day long, we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah.
  • Isa 45:25All the offspring of Israel will be justified in Yahweh, and will rejoice!
  • 2 Cor 10:17But “he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”
  • Ps 22:22–24I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the assembly, I will praise you.
  • 1 Tim 1:15–16The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
  • Ps 105:3Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.
  • Ps 32:5–6I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
  • Ps 142:7Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name. The righteous will surround me, for you will be good to me.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 34:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 34:2 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.