Psalms 34:18 (WEB)

Passage

Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.

Nearby Context

Psalms 34:16 Yahweh’s face is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth.

Psalms 34:17 The righteous cry, and Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Psalms 34:18 Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.

Psalms 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.

Psalms 34:20 He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "yahweh", "near", "broken", "heart", "saves", and "crushed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "yahweh", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "The righteous cry and Yahweh hears and..." into verse 19's "Many are the afflictions of the righteous...", so "Spirit" and "yahweh" 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 "Spirit" and "yahweh" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.