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Psalm 34:5

They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame.

3Oh magnify the LORD with me. Let’s exalt his name together.
4I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
6This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7The LORD’s angel encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
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← Psalm 34:4Psalm 34:6 →
Notice

Radiant faces and the promise of no shame speak to the fear that looking to YHWH might end in disgrace.

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

What would looking to YHWH mean in the place where you most fear shame?

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Whose trust in God has helped you understand the radiant faces described here?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

10 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
Hebrews 12:2looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the …Both passages direct attention toward the one trusted and speak of shame, with Hebrews naming the shame Jesus endured at the cross.
Psalm 123:1–2A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to you, you who sit in the heavens.Both psalms describe looking toward God, expressing dependence through the direction of a person's gaze.
Psalm 18:28For you will light my lamp, LORD. My God will light up my darkness.Both passages connect the LORD with brightness, pictured as radiant faces here and a lamp lighting darkness in Psalm 18.
Psalm 25:3Yes, no one who waits for you will be shamed. They will be shamed who deal treacherously without cause.Both psalms promise freedom from shame for those whose hope rests in God, expressed through looking and waiting.
Psalm 36:9For with you is the spring of life. In your light we will see light.Both psalms associate God with light, describing radiant faces here and the light by which people see in Psalm 36.
Isaiah 60:5Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart will thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you. The wealth of the …Both passages join seeing with becoming radiant, though Isaiah describes abundance arriving while the psalm describes looking to the LORD.
Isaiah 45:22“Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.Both passages connect looking to God with hope, expressed as freedom from shame in the psalm and salvation in Isaiah.
Esther 8:16The Jews had light, gladness, joy, and honor.The psalm's radiant faces share the language of brightness with Esther's account of light and gladness among the Jews.
2 Samuel 19:5Joab came into the house to the king, and said, “Today you have shamed the faces of all your servants who today have saved your life, and the lives of your …Both texts connect faces with shame: the psalm promises its absence, while Joab accuses the king of shaming his servants.
Ezra 9:8Now for a little moment grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a stake in his holy place, that our God may …Both passages associate God's help with brightness, expressed through radiant faces in the psalm and eyes that God may lighten in Ezra.
Where this verse fits

Fear for the future. anxiety or panic. praise and worship.

What the Bible says about fear →What the Bible says about anxiety →What the Bible says about worship →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Turn toward YHWH with one fear

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Encouragement

You do not have to manufacture a radiant face. The brightness in this verse follows looking to YHWH, whose help is worthy of trust.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 34:5. 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).