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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

Psalms 34:12

Would you like to enjoy life? Do you want long life and happiness?

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?
Easy-to-Read Version
Do you want to enjoy life? Do you want to have many happy days?
George Lamsa Translation
Where is the man who desires not life and many days that he may see the good time to come?
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 Come, my young friends, and listen to me, and I will teach you to honor the Lord . 12 Would you like to enjoy life? Do you want long life and happiness? 13 Then keep from speaking evil and from telling lies. 14 Turn away from evil and do good; strive for peace with all your heart. 15 The Lord watches over the righteous and listens to their cries; 16 but he opposes those who do evil, so that when they die, they are soon forgotten. 17 The righteous call to the Lord , and he listens; he rescues them from all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to those who are discouraged; he saves those who have lost all hope. 19 Good people suffer many troubles, but the Lord saves them from them all; 20 the Lord preserves them completely; not one of their bones is 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 brought out clothing and silver and gold jewelry, and gave them to Rebecca. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and to her mother.
Genesis 29:18
Jacob was in love with Rachel, so he said, "I will work seven years for you, if you will let me marry Rachel."
Genesis 31:41
It was like that for the whole twenty years I was with you. For fourteen years I worked to win your two daughters—and six years for your flocks. And even then, you changed my wages ten times.
Genesis 34:16
Then we will agree to intermarriage. We will settle among you and become one people with you.
Genesis 34:17
But if you will not accept our terms and be circumcised, we will take her and leave."
Genesis 34:25
Three days later, when the men were still sore from their circumcision, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, took their swords, went into the city without arousing suspicion, and killed all the men,
Genesis 34:27
After the slaughter Jacob's other sons looted the town to take revenge for their sister's disgrace.
Genesis 34:28
They took the flocks, the cattle, the donkeys, and everything else in the city and in the fields.
Genesis 34:29
They took everything of value, captured all the women and children, and carried off everything in the houses.
2 Samuel 3:14
And David also sent messengers to Ishbosheth to say, "Give me back my wife Michal. I paid a hundred Philistine foreskins in order to marry 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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