---
title: Psalms 34:8
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/psalms-34-8/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/psalms-34-8.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Psalms 34:8
testament: OT
section: Poetry
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Psalms 34:8

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "Taste and see that Jehovah is good; Happy is the man who takes refuge in him."

## JW Usage

Psalm 34:8 is read in JW devotional contexts as an invitation to experience Jehovah's goodness through obedience and service. The Watchtower acknowledges the verse's affectionate tone but does not draw attention to its New Testament citation in 1 Peter 2:3 — where Peter explicitly applies the "the Lord is good" of Psalm 34:8 to Jesus Christ.

## Protestant Usage

Psalm 34:8 is one of the cleanest demonstrations of the Watchtower's selective Tetragrammaton policy. The verse in Hebrew has YHWH ("taste and see that Yahweh is good"). The NWT renders it "Jehovah" — consistent with the Watchtower's practice of inserting "Jehovah" wherever the OT has YHWH. But 1 Peter 2:3 directly quotes this verse and applies it to Christ: "if you have tasted that the Lord is kind." The NWT renders 1 Peter 2:3 as "the Lord" (kyrios) rather than "Jehovah" — breaking the Watchtower's stated rule for inserting "Jehovah" at NT quotations of OT YHWH passages, precisely because following the rule would identify Jesus as the YHWH the psalm describes. The selective rule reveals the underlying theological motivation: insert "Jehovah" where it separates Jesus from the divine identity; preserve "Lord" where insertion would equate them. Pair Psalm 34:8 with 1 Peter 2:3 and Romans 10:13 / Joel 2:32 (the same selective pattern) for the cumulative case.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [The 237 Additions — Zero Manuscript Evidence](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/tetragrammaton-insertion.md) — Not one Greek NT manuscript contains Jehovah's name — so why does the NWT insert it 237 times? [NWT Translation]