Bible Strands
Psalms 34:4
I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David speaks to a gathered community (v.3: "with me," "us"), recounting a past encounter in which he sought Yahweh and was delivered. The moment is testimony, not petition.
The words — דָּרַשְׁתִּי (dāraštî), "I sought," from the root דרשׁ (dāraš), carries the sense of deliberate, active searching or inquiring, not passive waiting. מְגוּרוֹתַי (mĕgûrôtay), "my fears," is a rare noun from גוֹר (gôr), "to cower, be in dread," giving the fears a quality of trembling awe rather than generic anxiety.
The thread — The seek-and-answer pattern appears in Psalms 18:6 (distress → cry → heard) and Psalms 116:1 (heard my appeal), and is generalized in Matthew 7:7 ("seek, and you will find").
Why it lands — The verse is a completed exchange: the seeking happened, the answer happened. It asks the reader to name the specific dread and to have actually gone to God, not merely hoped He would act.
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
I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Cross-references
- Psalms 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.
- Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- Psalms 116:1 I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice—my appeal for mercy.
- Psalms 56:3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
- 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
- Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
- Jonah 2:2 saying: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice.
- Psalms 31:22 In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from Your sight!” But You heard my plea for mercy when I called to You for help.
- Hebrews 5:7 During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.
- Psalms 27:1 Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?