Judaism
Psalms 34
Text
[A Psalm] of David; when he changed his demeanour before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall glory in the LORD; The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.
I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked unto Him, and were radiant; And their faces shall never be abashed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard, And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear Him, And delivereth them.
O consider and see that the LORD is good; Happy is the man that taketh refuge in Him.
O fear the LORD, ye His holy ones; For there is no want to them that fear Him.
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger; But they that seek the LORD want not any good thing.
Come, ye children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Who is the man that desireth life, and loveth days, That he may see good therein?
Keep thy tongue from evil, And thy lips from speaking guile.
Depart from evil, and do good; Seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, And His ears are open unto their cry.
The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
They cried, and the LORD heard, And delivered them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, And saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.
Many are the ills of the righteous, But the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
He keepeth all his bones; Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall kill the wicked; And they that hate the righteous shall be held guilty.
The LORD redeemeth the soul of His servants; And none of them that take refuge in Him shall be desolate.
Text: The Holy Scriptures, Jewish Publication Society (1917), public domain, via Sefaria.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
Hadith (An-Nawawi 13)
“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Dhammapada 129 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“All tremble at the rod, all fear death. Treating others like oneself, neither kill nor incite to kill.”
Humility & Surrender
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“And let go those, Rites and writ duties! Fly to Me alone! Make Me thy single refuge! I will free Thy soul from all its sins! Be of good cheer!”
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
Tao Te Ching 22 (trans. James Legge)
“The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray.”
Quran 2:45
“Seek help in patience and prayer; and truly it is hard save for the humble-minded.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Dhammapada 2 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“Intention is the leader of things; intention is first, they’re made by intention. If with pure intent you speak or act, happiness follows you like a shadow that never leaves.”
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 16 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“The Doors of Hell Are threefold, whereby men to ruin pass, The door of Lust, the door of Wrath, the door Of Avarice. Let a man shun those three!”