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Psalm 34:14

Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it.

12Who is someone who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?
13Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking lies.
14Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it.
15The LORD’s eyes are toward the righteous. His ears listen to their cry.
16The LORD’s face is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth.
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← Psalm 34:13Psalm 34:15 →
Notice

“Seek peace” makes peace an active task, and “pursue it” suggests effort that must stay joined to turning from evil and doing good.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What would turning from evil toward good look like in a choice before you?

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What difference do you see between pursuing peace and keeping quiet?

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Where might seeking peace require a good action from you this week?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 37:27Depart from evil, and do good. Live securely forever.Both psalms use the same command, “Depart from evil, and do good,” directing conduct away from evil and toward good.
1 Peter 3:11Let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it.Peter repeats the psalm’s commands to turn from evil, do good, and seek peace with effort.
Hebrews 12:14Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord,Both passages urge the pursuit of peace and join that pursuit to a life turned toward what is holy.
Romans 12:9Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.Both passages pair rejection of evil with attachment to good, making each part essential to their instruction.
3 John 1:11Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God.Both passages direct the reader away from evil and toward doing good.
James 3:17–18But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.Psalm 34 joins doing good with pursuing peace; James describes wisdom from above as peaceful and full of good fruits.
Romans 12:18If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.Both passages urge peace; Romans names the limits of what one person can accomplish.
Romans 14:19So then, let’s follow after things which make for peace, and things by which we may build one another up.Both passages describe peace as something to pursue through action, with Romans adding the aim of building one another up.
Proverbs 3:7Don’t be wise in your own eyes. Fear the LORD, and depart from evil.Both passages command departure from evil, and Proverbs connects that departure with fearing the LORD.
2 Timothy 2:19However, God’s firm foundation stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from …Both passages command a break with wrongdoing: the psalm names evil, while Timothy names unrighteousness.
Psalm 97:10You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of his saints. He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.Both psalms require a firm rejection of evil, expressed as departing from it and hating it.
Job 28:28To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’”Both passages speak of departing from evil; Job identifies that departure as understanding.
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Listen to a trusted friend about one disagreement

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Encouragement

Peace may take effort, and this command leaves no room for doing evil to secure it. YHWH sees those who do right and hears their cry.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 34:14. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 34 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).