Psalms 34:18

Amplified Bible

The LORD is near to the heartbroken And He saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).

Parallel Translations

New Living Translation
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

English Revised Version
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Update Bible Version
Yahweh is near to those that are of a broken heart, And saves such as are of a contrite spirit.

New Century Version
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed.

New English Translation
The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he delivers those who are discouraged.

Webster's Bible Translation
The LORD [is] nigh to them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.

World English Bible
Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves those who have a crushed spirit.

English Standard Version
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The Lord is nyy hem that ben of troblid herte; and he schal saue meke men in spirit.

Berean Standard Bible
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.

Contemporary English Version
The Lord is there to rescue all who are discouraged and have given up hope.

American Standard Version
Jehovah is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, And saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.

Bible in Basic English
The Lord is near the broken-hearted; he is the saviour of those whose spirits are crushed down.

Complete Jewish Bible
[The righteous] cried out, and Adonai heard, and he saved them from all their troubles.

Darby Translation
Jehovah is nigh to those that are of a broken heart, and saveth them that are of a contrite spirit.

Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord is close to those who have suffered disappointment. He saves those who are discouraged.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
They cried, and the LORD heard, and delivered them out of all their troubles.

King James Version (1611)
The Lord is nigh vnto them that are of a broken heart: and saueth such as be of a contrite spirit.

New Life Bible
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart. And He saves those who are broken in spirit.

New Revised Standard
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.

Geneva Bible (1587)
The Lord is neere vnto them that are of a contrite heart, and will saue such as be afflicted in Spirite.

George Lamsa Translation
The LORD is near to them that are brokenhearted, and he saves those who are humble in spirit.

Good News Translation
The Lord is near to those who are discouraged; he saves those who have lost all hope.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Near is Yahweh, to the broken in heart, And, the crushed in spirit, will he save.

Douay-Rheims Bible
(33-19) The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart: and he will save the humble of spirit.

Revised Standard Version
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
God is nye vnto them that are of a contrite heart: and saueth such as be of an humble spirite.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The Lord is near to them that are of a contrite heart; and will save the lowly in spirit.

Christian Standard Bible®
The Lord is near the brokenhearted;he saves those crushed in spirit.

Hebrew Names Version
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves those who have a crushed spirit.

King James Version
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Lexham English Bible
Yahweh is near to those who are heartbroken and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Literal Translation
Jehovah is near to the broken of heart; and He saves the crushed of spirit.

Young's Literal Translation
Near [is] Jehovah to the broken of heart, And the bruised of spirit He saveth.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The LORDE is nye vnto them yt are contrite in hert, & wil helpe soch as be of an huble sprete.

THE MESSAGE
If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath.

New American Standard Bible
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

New King James Version
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh is near to the brokenheartedAnd saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Contextual Overview

¹¹Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you to fear the LORD [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience]. ¹²Who is the man who desires life And loves many days, that he may see good? ¹³Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. ¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. ¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous [those with moral courage and spiritual integrity] And His ears are open to their cry. ¹⁶The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the memory of them from the earth. ¹⁷When the righteous cry [for help], the LORD hears And rescues them from all their distress and troubles. ¹⁸The LORD is near to the heartbroken And He saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).¹⁹Many hardships and perplexing circumstances confront the righteous, But the LORD rescues him from them all. ²⁰He keeps all his bones; Not one of them is broken.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

is nigh: Psalms 75:1, Psalms 85:9, Psalms 119:151, Psalms 145:18, Isaiah 55:6

unto them: etc. Heb. to the broken of heart, Psalms 51:17, Psalms 147:3, Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18

such as: etc. Heb. the contrite of spirit, 2 Kings 22:19, Isaiah 57:15, Isaiah 66:2, Ezekiel 36:26, Ezekiel 36:31

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 26:24 - let him deliver 2 Chronicles 34:27 - thine heart Psalms 109:16 - slay Proverbs 16:19 - to be Jeremiah 44:10 - humbled Joel 2:13 - rend Matthew 5:3 - the poor

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The Lord [is] nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,.... Who are pressed and bore down with afflictions, by the sorrow of heart under which their spirits are broken, Proverbs 15:13; or with a sense of sin, and sorrow for it, for which their hearts smite them, and they are wounded by it, and broken with it: to these the Lord is "nigh"; not in a general way only, as he is to all men, being God omnipresent, but in a special manner; he comes and manifests himself to them in a gracious way, pours in the oil and wine of his love, and binds up their broken hearts; yea, comes and dwells with them: he does not pass by them and neglect them, much less make the breach worse; he does not break the bruised reeds, but he heals their breaches;

and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit; not in a legal, but in an evangelical way; who are humbled under a sense of sin, and melted down in true repentance, under a view of the love and grace of God; and are poor and mean in their own eyes: to these the Lord has respect; the sacrifices of a broken and contrite spirit are not despised by him, but accepted through faith in Christ; and such he saves with an everlasting salvation in him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart - Margin, as in Hebrew: “to the broken of heart.” The phrase, “the Lord is nigh,” means that he is ready to hear and to help. The language is, of course, figurative. As an Omnipresent Being, God is equally near to all persons at all times; but the language is adapted to our conceptions, as we feel that one who is near us can help us, or that one who is distant from us cannot give us aid. Compare the notes at Psalms 22:11. The phrase, “them that are of a broken heart,” occurs often in the Bible. It refers to a condition when a burden “seems” to be on the heart, and when the heart “seems” to be crushed by sin or sorrow; and it is designed to describe a consciousness of deep guilt, or the heaviest kind of affliction and trouble. Compare Psalms 51:17; Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 61:1; Isaiah 66:2.

And sayeth such as be of a contrite spirit - Margin, as in Hebrew: “contrite of spirit.” The phrase here means the spirit as “crushed” or “broken down;” that is, as in the other phrase, a spirit that is oppressed by sin or trouble. The world abounds with instances of those who can fully understand this language.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 34:18. A broken heart — נשברי לב nishberey leb, the heart broken to shivers.

A contrite spirit. — דכאי רוח dakkeey ruach, "the beaten-out spirit." In both words the hammer is necessarily implied; in breaking to pieces the ore first, and then plating out the metal when it has been separated from the ore. This will call to the reader's remembrance Jeremiah 23:29: "Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord? And like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" The breaking to shivers, and beating out, are metaphorical expressions: so are the hammer and the rock. What the large hammer struck on a rock by a powerful hand would do, so does the word of the Lord when struck on the sinner's heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. The broken heart, and the contrite spirit, are two essential characteristics of true repentance.