The Meaning of Psalms 34:11 Explained

Psalms 34:11

KJV: Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

YLT: Come ye, children, hearken to me, The fear of Jehovah I do teach you.

Darby: Come, ye sons, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of Jehovah.

ASV: Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of Jehovah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Come,  ye children,  hearken  unto me: I will teach  you the fear  of the LORD. 

What does Psalms 34:11 Mean?

Study Notes

fear
.
fear of the Lord
The "fear of the Lord," a phrase of the O.T. piety, meaning reverential trust, with hatred of evil.

Verse Meaning

David addressed his people as a parent instructs his children. He promised wise counsel on the subject of trusting God.

Context Summary

Psalms 34:11-22 - The Salvation Of The Contrite
Psalms 34:11-14 : The gist of this exhortation is quoted by Peter in his first Epistle. See 1 Peter 3:10. We need not fret to defend ourselves or to answer false accusations. Let us refrain our lips, hold our peace, as Jesus did, and go on doing what is right and good. God will see to it that our needs are supplied, that our enemies are silenced, and that our soul is redeemed.
Psalms 34:15 : Do you feel unable to claim the designation of righteous? Remember that Paul was glad to reject his own, that he might be clad in Another's righteousness. That still avails for us. See Philippians 3:9.
Psalms 34:17 : We are not kept from trouble, but delivered out of it.
Psalms 34:20 : You do not recognize Him, but the Great Gardener passes by the plants that have braved the wind and storm to bend over you who are beaten to the earth. See the literal fulfillment of this in John 19:36. How much we owe to God's continuous care!
Psalms 34:22 : Observe the present tenses in which the psalmist records God's redeeming love. It never grows old. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 34

1  David praises God, and exhorts others thereto by his experience
8  They are blessed who trust in God
11  He exhorts to the fear of God
15  The privileges of the righteous

What do the individual words in Psalms 34:11 mean?

Come you children listen to me the fear of Yahweh I will teach you
לְֽכוּ־ בָ֭נִים שִׁמְעוּ־ לִ֑י יִֽרְאַ֥ת יְ֝הוָ֗ה אֲלַמֶּדְכֶֽם

לְֽכוּ־  Come  you 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
בָ֭נִים  children 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
שִׁמְעוּ־  listen 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
לִ֑י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
יִֽרְאַ֥ת  the  fear 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: יִרְאָה  
Sense: fear, terror, fearing.
יְ֝הוָ֗ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֲלַמֶּדְכֶֽם  I  will  teach  you 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common singular, second person masculine plural
Root: לָמַד  
Sense: to learn. teach, exercise in.