Log inSign up

Psalm 35 · a question people ask

"Wake up!" (35:23). Does the psalmist think the LORD is asleep?

In the text

The psalm itself says the LORD has seen: "You have seen it, LORD. Don’t keep silent. Lord, don’t be far from me" (35:22). What it asks is that he act: "Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God! My Lord, contend for me!" (35:23). Wake up is ur, and rise up is quts, which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "awake". Psalm 44 prays with the same two verbs, and asks, "Wake up! Why do you sleep, Lord? Arise! Don’t reject us forever" (Psalm 44:23). Psalm 121 says, "Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:4). Psalm 28's chapter lists the psalms that pray "Don’t keep silent", and Psalm 22's chapter the psalms that pray "don’t be far from me". These verses stand side by side in Scripture: psalms that say the LORD sees and never sleeps, and psalms that call on him to wake. The psalm doesn't say how they fit together, and these notes don't choose.

The verses

“You have seen it, LORD. Don’t keep silent. Lord, don’t be far from me. Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God! My Lord, contend for me!”
Psalm 35:22-23 · World English Bible
“Wake up! Why do you sleep, Lord? Arise! Don’t reject us forever.”
Psalm 44:23 · World English Bible
“Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
Psalm 121:4 · World English Bible
“By David. To you, LORD, I call. My rock, don’t be deaf to me, lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit.”
Psalm 28:1 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 35

Psalm 35: Evil for good

The man who prays "Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me" (Psalm 35:1) says that when those who now "reward me evil for good" were sick, he wore sackcloth and fasted for them (Psalm 35:12-13). And his "those who hate me without a cause" (Psalm 35:19) is, in Hebrew, the same words as Psalm 69:4: words Jesus says are written (John 15:25).

In Favor, questions like this come up right where they arise as you read, with the Hebrew and Greek behind the words and how the chapter leads to Jesus.

Start your free weekPsalm 35 Bible study

First week free, then $10 a month per person

More questions about Psalm 35

All questions about Psalms →

The best way to learn the Bible

Favor opens up every chapter as you read.

Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.

  • Every chapter explains itself

    As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.

  • The Hebrew and Greek behind it

    Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.

  • Every page leads to Jesus

    Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.

  • Better together

    Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.

  1. 1

    Start your free week

    Sign up in a minute with your email.

  2. 2

    Read a few minutes a day

    Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.

  3. 3

    Bring your people, if you like

    Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.

Start your free week

First week free, then $10 a month per person

Questions like this, in every chapter

The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.

There's a seat for you at the table.

Start your free week

First week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions