Psalms 34:14 (ASV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Psalms 34:12 What man is he that desireth life, And loveth [many] days, that he may see good?

Psalms 34:13 Keep thy tongue from evil, And thy lips from speaking guile.

Psalms 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; Seek peace, and pursue it.

Psalms 34:15 The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous, And his ears are [open] unto their cry.

Psalms 34:16 The face of Jehovah is against them that do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "depart", "evil", "good", "seek", "peace", and "pursue". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "depart" and "evil", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Keep thy tongue from evil And thy..." into verse 15's "The eyes of Jehovah are toward the...", so "depart" and "evil" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "depart" and "evil" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.