O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me.
Parallel translations
- WEB You have seen it, Yahweh. Don’t keep silent. Lord, don’t be far from me.
- KJV This thou hast seen, O LORD: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.
- NKJV This You have seen, O Lord; Do not keep silence. O Lord, do not be far from me.
- NASB ¶You have seen it, Lord, do not keep silent; Lord, do not be far from me.
- NLT O Lord, you know all about this. Do not stay silent. Do not abandon me now, O Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David appeals to the Lord, who has seen everything, not to remain silent or distant. He asks God to act because God alone is a sufficient witness and defender.
Overview
Against enemies who falsely claim their eye has seen his guilt, David contrasts the Lord who truly 'has seen it.' He pleads that God not 'keep silent' or stay 'far from me,' trusting divine justice over human verdicts. This confidence that God sees and will not abandon His own anticipates the gospel assurance that the Father vindicates those who trust Him in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Exod 3:7The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
- Ps 10:1Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?
- Ps 28:1Of David. To You, O LORD, I call; be not deaf to me, O my Rock. For if You remain silent, I will be like those descending to the Pit.
- Ps 38:21Do not forsake me, O LORD; be not far from me, O my God.
- Ps 71:12Be not far from me, O God. Hurry, O my God, to help me.
- Isa 65:6Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will pay it back into their laps,
- Ps 22:11Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
- Ps 39:12Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.
- Ps 50:21You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.
- Ps 22:19But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
- Ps 83:1A song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, be not silent; be not speechless; be not still, O God.
- Acts 7:34I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 35:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.