Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 12th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Psalms 34:12

Do you want to enjoy life? Do you want to have many happy days?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Longevity;   Quotations and Allusions;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Peace;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Letters;   Psalms, the Book of;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Abimelech;   Teacher;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Disease;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Abimelech;   Achish;   Acrostic;   David;   English Versions;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Life;   Peter, First Epistle of;   Psalms;   Sin;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Life;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Abimelech;   Achish;   Lamentations of jeremiah;   Psalms the book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Life;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Alexandri;   Calumny;   Education;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Who is someone who desires life,loving a long life to enjoy what is good?
Hebrew Names Version
Who is someone who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good?
King James Version
What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
English Standard Version
What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?
New Century Version
You must do these things to enjoy life and have many happy days.
New English Translation
Do you want to really live? Would you love to live a long, happy life?
Amplified Bible
Who is the man who desires life And loves many days, that he may see good?
New American Standard Bible
Who is the person who desires life And loves length of days, that he may see good?
World English Bible
Who is someone who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good?
Geneva Bible (1587)
What man is he, that desireth life, and loueth long dayes for to see good?
Legacy Standard Bible
Who is the man who delights in lifeAnd loves many days that he may see good?
Berean Standard Bible
Who is the man who delights in life, who desires to see good days?
Contemporary English Version
Do you want to live and enjoy a long life?
Complete Jewish Bible
Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of Adonai .
Darby Translation
What man is he that desireth life, [and] loveth days, that he may see good?
George Lamsa Translation
Where is the man who desires not life and many days that he may see the good time to come?
Good News Translation
Would you like to enjoy life? Do you want long life and happiness?
Lexham English Bible
Who is the man who desires life, who loves many days in order to see good?
Literal Translation
Who is the man who desires life, who loves days in order to see good?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Who so listeth to lyue, & wolde fayne se good dayes.
American Standard Version
What man is he that desireth life, And loveth many days, that he may see good?
Bible in Basic English
What man has a love of life, and a desire that his days may be increased so that he may see good?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Come, ye children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
King James Version (1611)
What man is hee that desireth life; and loueth many dayes, that he may see good?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
What man is he that listeth to liue: [and] woulde fayne see good dayes.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
What man is there that desires life, loving to see good days?
English Revised Version
What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Who is a man, that wole lijf; loueth to se good daies?
Update Bible Version
What man is he that desires life, And loves [many] days, that he may see good?
Webster's Bible Translation
What man [is he that] desireth life, [and] loveth [many] days, that he may see good?
New King James Version
Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good?
New Living Translation
Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous?
New Life Bible
Who is the man who has a desire for life, and wants to live long so that he may see good things?
New Revised Standard
Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Who is the man that desireth life, Loving days, that he may see good?
Douay-Rheims Bible
(33-13) Who is the man that desireth life: who liveth to see good days?
Revised Standard Version
What man is there who desires life, and covets many days, that he may enjoy good?
Young's Literal Translation
Who [is] the man that is desiring life? Loving days to see good?
THE MESSAGE
Who out there has a lust for life? Can't wait each day to come upon beauty?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good?

Contextual Overview

11 Children, come and listen to me; I will teach you to respect the Lord . 12 Do you want to enjoy life? Do you want to have many happy days? 13 Then avoid saying anything hurtful, and never let a lie come out of your mouth. 14 Stop doing anything evil, and do good. Look for peace, and do all you can to help people live peacefully. 15 The Lord watches over those who do what is right, and he hears their prayers. 16 But the Lord is against those who do evil, so they are forgotten soon after they die. 17 Pray to the Lord , and he will hear you. He will save you from all your troubles. 18 The Lord is close to those who have suffered disappointment. He saves those who are discouraged. 19 Good people might have many problems, but the Lord will take them all away. 20 He will protect them completely. Not one of their bones will be broken.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What: Psalms 21:4, Psalms 91:16, Deuteronomy 6:2, Deuteronomy 30:20, 1 Peter 3:10, 1 Peter 3:11

that he: Psalms 4:6, Job 7:7, Ecclesiastes 2:3, Ecclesiastes 12:13

Reciprocal: Genesis 19:16 - the Lord Deuteronomy 11:9 - prolong Deuteronomy 25:15 - that thy days Job 32:7 - General Psalms 15:2 - speaketh Psalms 94:14 - forsake Ecclesiastes 6:6 - yet Isaiah 65:20 - There shall Amos 5:14 - Seek Matthew 5:9 - are

Cross-References

Genesis 24:53
Then he gave Rebekah the gifts he brought. He gave her beautiful clothes and gold and silver jewelry. He also gave expensive gifts to her mother and brother.
Genesis 29:18
Jacob loved Rachel, so he said to Laban, "I will work seven years for you if you will allow me to marry your daughter Rachel."
Genesis 31:41
I worked 20 years like a slave for you. For the first 14 years I worked to win your two daughters. The last six years I worked to earn your animals. And during that time you changed my pay ten times.
Genesis 34:16
Then your men can marry our women, and our men can marry your women. Then we will become one people.
Genesis 34:17
If you refuse to be circumcised, we will take Dinah away."
Genesis 34:25
Three days later the men who were circumcised were still sore. Two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, knew that the men would be weak at this time. So they went to the city and killed all the men there.
Genesis 34:27
Jacob's sons went to the city and stole everything that was there because of what Shechem had done to their sister.
Genesis 34:28
So the brothers took all their animals, all their donkeys, and everything else in the city and in the fields.
Genesis 34:29
The brothers took everything those people owned. They even took their wives and children.
2 Samuel 3:14
David sent messengers to Saul's son Ish Bosheth. David said, "Give me my wife Michal. She was promised to me. I killed 100 Philistines to get her."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

What man [is he that] desireth life?.... Every man desires life, even a natural life; it is more desirable than all things in it; especially an healthful life, without which the blessings and mercies of life cannot be comfortably enjoyed; and still more a life of prosperity; life, with an affluence of good things, and even a long one: though it may be rather that a spiritual life is here meant, and a comfortable one; a life free from the remorses of a guilty conscience, from the fear of hell, damnation, and wrath; from the bondage of the law, and the dread of death; a life of faith on Christ, and communion with him; and a life of sobriety, righteousness, and holiness; and perhaps it may be best of all to understand it of eternal life, which is life eminently and emphatically; it follows,

[and] loveth [many] days; that is, good ones; as they are interpreted in 1 Peter 3:10; not of this life, for the days of it are evil, and especially when they are lengthened out; the days of old age, Ecclesiastes 12:1; unless the days of the son of man, the days of enjoying the presence of God in his house and ordinances, should be intended; though rather the good and many days of eternity, even length of days, for ever and ever, in which will be fulness of joy, and never ceasing and never fading pleasures;

that he may see good; there is good to be seen and enjoyed in this life, which if the saints did not believe they should see and enjoy, they would often faint; and this good lies in the participation of the blessings of grace, and in fellowship with Father, Son, and Spirit: but the great and lasting good to be seen and enjoyed is in the world to come, when God shall be all in all, be seen as he is, and the saints shall inherit all things.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

What man is he that desireth life? - That desires to live long. All people naturally love life; and all naturally desire to live long; and this desire, being founded in our nature, is not wrong. Life is, in itself, a good - a blessing to be desired; death is in itself an evil, and a thing to be dreaded, and there is nothing wrong, in itself, in such a dread. Equally proper is it to wish not to be cut down in early life; for where one has before him an eternity for which to prepare, he feels it undesirable that he should be cut off in the beginning of his way. The psalmist, therefore, does not put this question because he supposes that there were any who did not desire life, or did not wish to see many days, but in order to fix the attention on the inquiry, and to prepare the mind for the answer which was to follow. By thus putting the question, also, he has implicitly expressed the opinion that it is lawful to desire life, and to wish to see many days.

And loveth many days - literally, “loving days.” That is, who so loves days, considered as a part of life, that he wishes they may be prolonged and multiplied.

That he may see good - That he may enjoy prosperity, or find happiness. In other words, who is he that would desire to understand the way by which life may be lengthened out to old age, and by which it may be made happy and prosperous? The psalmist proposes to answer this question - as he does in the following verses, by stating the results of what he had experienced and observed.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 34:12. What man is he that desireth life — He who wishes to live long and to live happily, let him act according to the following directions. For a comment upon this and the four ensuing verses, see the notes on 1 Peter 3:10-12.


 
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