Psalm 34 Participant Analysis
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Psalm 34/Participant Analysis
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Psalm 34
Please note: Resources for Psalm 34 are in the process of being reformatted for visual consistency and improved functionality.
Participant Analysis
Participant Analysis focuses on the characters in the psalm and asks, “Who are the main participants (or characters) in this psalm, and what are they saying or doing? It is often helpful for understanding literary structure, speaker identification, etc.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Participant Analysis Creator Guidelines.
There are 4 participants/characters in Psalm 34:
| David |
| "Poor man" (v. 7) |
| David's Soul |
| The Afflicted |
| "Holy ones" (v. 10) |
| "Children" (v. 12) |
| The Righteous |
| "Those who fear [YHWH]" (v. 8) |
| "The man who seeks refuge in [YHWH]" (v. 9) |
| "Those who seek YHWH" (v. 11) |
| "The person who desires life" (v. 13) |
| "The broken-hearted" (v. 19) |
| "The crushed in spirit" (v. 19) |
| "[YHWH's] servants" (v. 23) |
| The Righteous One's Body |
| "[The righteous one's] lips" (v. 14) |
| YHWH |
| YHWH's Body |
| "YHWH's face" (v. 17*) |
| "YHWH's eyes" (v. 16*) |
| "YHWH's ears" (v. 16*) |
| YHWH's Angel |
| Enemies |
| "Wicked person" (v. 22) |
| "Those who hate a righteous person" (v. 22) |
| Young lions |
| Abimelek |
- Young lions: Lions are a metaphor for those who don't fear YHWH. (See [Psalm 34 Story Behind | Story Behind]).
- Non-Agentive Participants - YHWH's Body / The Righteous One's Body: While not agentive participants per se, included in this list of participants are inanimate entities personified as performing relational actions, or entities representing a metonymy for an agentive participant.
- The Afflicted vs. the Righteous: While there is significant overlap between these two participant sets (hence their grouping as related sets), the distinction made here is between the psalmist's addressee (the Afflicted) and the hypothetical person whom the addressee is encouraged to emulated (the Righteous).
| Hebrew | Line | English |
|---|---|---|
| לְדָוִ֗ד בְּשַׁנּוֹת֣וֹ אֶת־טַ֭עְמוֹ לִפְנֵ֣י אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ וַֽ֝יְגָרֲשֵׁ֗הוּ וַיֵּלַֽךְ׃ | 1 | By David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, and Abimelek drove him out, and he went. |
| אֲבָרֲכָ֣ה אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה בְּכָל־עֵ֑ת | 2a | I will bless YHWH at all times. |
| תָּ֝מִ֗יד תְּֽהִלָּת֥וֹ בְּפִֽי׃ | 2b | His praise will continually be in my mouth. |
| בַּ֭יהוָה תִּתְהַלֵּ֣ל נַפְשִׁ֑י | 3a | My soul boasts in YHWH. |
| יִשְׁמְע֖וּ עֲנָוִ֣ים וְיִשְׂמָֽחוּ׃ | 3b | May the afflicted hear and be glad! |
| גַּדְּל֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה אִתִּ֑י | 4a | Extol YHWH with me, |
| וּנְרוֹמְמָ֖ה שְׁמ֣וֹ יַחְדָּֽו׃ | 4b | and let us exalt his name together! |
| דָּרַ֣שְׁתִּי אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה וְעָנָ֑נִי | 5a | I sought YHWH and he answered me |
| וּמִכָּל־מְ֝גוּרוֹתַ֗י הִצִּילָֽנִי׃ | 5b | and he rescued me from all my terrors. |
| הַבִיטו אֵלָ֣יו וּנְהָרוּ | 6a | Gaze at him and glow, |
| וּפְנֵיכֶם אַל־יֶחְפָּֽרוּ׃ | 6b | and do not let your faces be ashamed! |
| זֶ֤ה עָנִ֣י קָ֭רָא וַיהוָ֣ה שָׁמֵ֑עַ | 7a | This is a poor man who called out and YHWH heard |
| וּמִכָּל־צָ֝רוֹתָ֗יו הוֹשִׁיעֽוֹ׃ | 7b | and saved him from all his troubles. |
| חֹנֶ֤ה מַלְאַךְ־יְהוָ֓ה | 8a | YHWH’s angel encamps |
| סָ֘בִ֤יב לִֽירֵאָ֗יו וַֽיְחַלְּצֵֽם׃ | 8b | all around those who fear him and he delivers them. |
| טַעֲמ֣וּ וּ֭רְאוּ כִּי־ט֣וֹב יְהוָ֑ה | 9a | Taste and see that YHWH is good! |
| אַֽשְׁרֵ֥י הַ֝גֶּ֗בֶר יֶחֱסֶה־בּֽוֹ׃ | 9b | Happy is the man who seeks refuge in him. |
| יְר֣אוּ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה קְדֹשָׁ֑יו | 10a | Fear YHWH, you holy ones of his! |
| כִּי־אֵ֥ין מַ֝חְס֗וֹר לִירֵאָֽיו׃ | 10b | For those who fear him have no lack. |
| כְּ֭פִירִים רָשׁ֣וּ וְרָעֵ֑בוּ | 11a | Young lions have suffered want and been hungry, |
| וְדֹרְשֵׁ֥י יְ֝הוָ֗ה לֹא־יַחְסְר֥וּ כָל־טֽוֹב׃ | 11b | but those who seek YHWH will not lack any good. |
| לְֽכוּ־בָ֭נִים שִׁמְעוּ־לִ֑י | 12a | Come, children! Listen to me! |
| יִֽרְאַ֥ת יְ֝הוָ֗ה אֲלַמֶּדְכֶֽם׃ | 12b | I will teach you the fear of YHWH. |
| מִֽי־הָ֭אִישׁ הֶחָפֵ֣ץ חַיִּ֑ים | 13a | Who is the person who desires life, |
| אֹהֵ֥ב יָ֝מִ֗ים לִרְא֥וֹת טֽוֹב׃ | 13b | wants to live a long time, [who loves] to see good? |
| נְצֹ֣ר לְשׁוֹנְךָ֣ מֵרָ֑ע | 14a | Keep your tongue from evil |
| וּ֝שְׂפָתֶ֗יךָ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר מִרְמָֽה׃ | 14b | and your lips from speaking deceit! |
| ס֣וּר מֵ֭רָע וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב | 15a | Turn away from evil and do good! |
| בַּקֵּ֖שׁ שָׁל֣וֹם וְרָדְפֵֽהוּ׃ | 15b | Seek peace and pursue it! |
| עֵינֵ֣י יְ֭הוָה אֶל־צַדִּיקִ֑ים | 16a | YHWH’s eyes are directed towards the righteous, |
| וְ֝אָזְנָ֗יו אֶל־שַׁוְעָתָֽם׃ | 16b | and his ears are attentive to their cries for help. |
| פְּנֵ֣י יְ֭הוָה בְּעֹ֣שֵׂי רָ֑ע | 17a | YHWH’s face is against those who do evil, |
| לְהַכְרִ֖ית מֵאֶ֣רֶץ זִכְרָֽם׃ | 17b | so as to remove the memory of them from the earth. |
| צָעֲק֣וּ וַיהוָ֣ה שָׁמֵ֑עַ | 18a | They called for help, and YHWH heard, |
| וּמִכָּל־צָ֝רוֹתָ֗ם הִצִּילָֽם׃ | 18b | and he delivered them from all their troubles. |
| קָר֣וֹב יְ֭הוָה לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־לֵ֑ב | 19a | YHWH is near to the broken-hearted |
| וְֽאֶת־דַּכְּאֵי־ר֥וּחַ יוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃ | 19b | and he saves the crushed in spirit. |
| רַ֭בּוֹת רָע֣וֹת צַדִּ֑יק | 20a | The hardships of the righteous are many, |
| וּ֝מִכֻּלָּ֗ם יַצִּילֶ֥נּוּ יְהוָֽה׃ | 20b | but YHWH rescues him from all of them. |
| שֹׁמֵ֥ר כָּל־עַצְמוֹתָ֑יו | 21a | He protects all his bones. |
| אַחַ֥ת מֵ֝הֵ֗נָּה לֹ֣א נִשְׁבָּֽרָה׃ | 21b | Not one of them has broken. |
| תְּמוֹתֵ֣ת רָשָׁ֣ע רָעָ֑ה | 22a | Hardship finishes off a wicked person, |
| וְשֹׂנְאֵ֖י צַדִּ֣יק יֶאְשָֽׁמוּ׃ | 22b | and those who hate a righteous person bear their guilt |
| פּוֹדֶ֣ה יְ֭הוָה נֶ֣פֶשׁ עֲבָדָ֑יו | 23a | YHWH redeems his servants’ lives, |
| וְלֹ֥א יֶ֝אְשְׁמ֗וּ כָּֽל־הַחֹסִ֥ים בּֽוֹ׃ | 23b | and no one who seeks refuge in him will ever bear guilt. |
Participant Relations Diagram
The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:
Participant Analysis Summary Distribution
This resource is forthcoming.