Bible Strands
Psalms 34:15
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David addresses the righteous within a sharp contrast: verse 14 commands them to pursue peace, verse 16 states God's face is against the wicked. This verse is the hinge between command and warning.
The words — שׁוֹעָה (shav.'a.Ta/m) is not a generic "prayer" but a specific cry for help, the word used for the desperate appeal of the oppressed. The preposition אֶל ('el-) appears twice, marking the direction of God's gaze and hearing as fixed and intentional.
The thread — 1 Peter 3:12 quotes this verse nearly verbatim, substituting "prayer" for the Hebrew "cry for help." Psalms 34:17 expands the same thought: the righteous cry out, and the LORD hears and delivers.
Why it lands — It places the reader in a binary: God's attention is fixed on one group and turned away from another (v16). The verse asks the reader to know which side they are on and to trust that their cry is not lost in noise.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
- Psalms 34:17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles.
- Psalms 33:18 Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion
- Job 36:7 He does not take His eyes off the righteous, but He enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.
- Psalms 130:2 O Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.
- Psalms 34:6 This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- 2 Chronicles 6:40 Now, my God, may Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.
- Daniel 9:17 So now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, O Lord, cause Your face to shine upon Your desolate sanctuary.
- Isaiah 37:14 So Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, read it, and went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.