God & Savior

Psalm 34:18

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
Psalm 34:18
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Study notes

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and rescues those whose spirit is crushed.

Explanation

God does not keep His distance from people who are hurting. Those with a broken heart or crushed spirit are exactly the people He comes close to and saves.

Original language
  • קָר֣וֹב (ka.Rov): near
    Hebrew · Adjective, masculine, singular, absolute · Strong's H7138 · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Near.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 34:18, word 1

  • לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־ (le.nish.be.rei-): to break
    Hebrew · Preposition + Verb, niphal, participle (active), masculine, plural, construct · Strong's H7665 · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Broken.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 34:18, word 3

  • דַּכְּאֵי־ (da.ke.'ei-): contrite
    Hebrew · Adjective, masculine, plural, construct · Strong's H1793A · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Crushed.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 34:18, word 6

  • יוֹשִֽׁיעַ (yo.Shi.a'): to save
    Hebrew · Verb, hiphil, imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · Strong's H3467 · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    He saves or delivers.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 34:18, word 8

Cross-references
  • Psalm 147:3 · Same theme

    He heals the brokenhearted.

  • Isaiah 57:15 · Same theme

    God dwells with the contrite and lowly in spirit.

  • Isaiah 61:1 · Same theme

    Sent to bind up the brokenhearted.

Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Hebrew)

קָר֣וֹב יְ֭הוָה לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־לֵ֑ב וְֽאֶת־דַּכְּאֵי־ר֥וּחַ יוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃

  1. קָר֣וֹבka.Rov“[is] near”
    Adjective, masculine, singular, absolute · from קָרֹב · “near” · Strong's H7138
  2. יְ֭הוָהYah.weh“Yahweh”
    Noun, proper name, title · from יהוה · “LORD” · Strong's H3068G
  3. לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־le.nish.be.rei-“to [people] broken of”
    Preposition + Verb, niphal, participle (active), masculine, plural, construct · from שָׁבַר · “to break” · Strong's H7665
  4. לֵ֑בLev“heart”
    Noun, masculine, singular, absolute · from לֵב · “heart” · Strong's H3820A
  5. וְֽאֶת־ve.'Et“and <obj.>”
    Conjunction + Particle, direct object marker · from אֵת · “[Obj.]” · Strong's H0853
  6. דַּכְּאֵי־da.ke.'ei-“[people] crushed of”
    Adjective, masculine, plural, construct · from דַּכָּא · “contrite” · Strong's H1793A
  7. ר֥וּחַRu.ach“spirit”
    Noun, feminine, singular, absolute · from רוּחַ · “spirit” · Strong's H7307G
  8. יוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃yo.Shi.a'“he delivers”
    Verb, hiphil, imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from יָשַׁע · “to save” · Strong's H3467
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Hebrew and Aramaic words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)