The Nugget:
Psa 34:20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. (KJV)
Psa 34:20 Under the Lord’s keeping, every bone of his is safe; not one of them shall suffer harm. (Knox translation)
Psa 34:20 He keeps all their bones: not one of them shall be broken. (LXX., Brenton translation)
Psa 34:20 He is keeping all his bones, One of them hath not been broken. (YLT, Young’s Literal Translation)
Psa 34:20 He protects all his bones; not one of them is broken. (NET Bible)
Psa 34:20 Keeping all his bones, Not, one from among them, is broken. (EB, Emphasized Bible)
Psa 34:19 Good people suffer many troubles, but the LORD saves them from them all;
Psa 34:20 the LORD preserves them completely; not one of their bones is broken. (GNB, Good News Bible)
Psa 34:20 The LORD guards all of his bones. Not one of them is broken. (GW, God’s Word translation)
Psa 34:20 God will be your bodyguard to protect you when trouble is near. Not one bone will be broken. (TPT, The Passion Translation)
Psa 34:20 He keeps all his bones: not one of them is broken. (BBE, Bible in Basic English)
Psa 34:20 He will protect them completely. Not one of their bones will be broken. (ERV, Easy to Read Version)
Psa 34:20 Not one of their bones will ever be broken. (CEV, Contemporary English Version)
My Comment:
Reading the dozen different translations cited above shows that different translation styles (like literal or dynamic equivalence) affect the English meaning of Psalm 34:20.
“Dynamic equivalence” refers to translating the idea the translators believe is in the underlying original language text into English rather than attempting to translate the original language word for word.
The more literal translations preserve the distinctions (such as singular and plural) of the underlying original text. This is a very important matter at times.
John in his Gospel quotes this text (John 19:36) and applies it to our Lord Jesus Christ. The singular renderings make it easier to see how John could apply this verse that way.
From all this, we can learn that studying the Bible from any of the more literal translations is a must.
The modern English translations are valuable to increase our understanding, but sometimes fail to preserve figures of speech, Bible types, and Bible prophecies which sometimes depend upon literal translation for readers to see and better understand them.
Dig deeper into the subjects mentioned in Psalm 34:19 by reading and studying the cross references shared below from the Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury. I will add additional cross references here that are not given there.
Psa 34:20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
Psalms 34:20
He keepeth. Psa 35:10; Psa 37:28; Psa 89:35; Psa 91:12; *Psa 97:10, Pro 1:33, Dan 6:22, 22, 23, 24, Mat 4:6, John 19:31, 32, 33, 2Co 1:10, Eph 5:30.
not one. Gen 22:12, Deut 6:4, Mat 10:29, 30, 31.
of them. Psa 37:15, Mat 4:6.
broken. T1974 (Messiah’s bones were not to be broken). Psa 22:14, 15, 16, 17; %Psa 51:8; Psa 69:20, **Exo 12:46, Num 9:12, +*Luk 24:44, $*>John 19:36 note.