This thou hast seen, O LORD: keep not silence: 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.
- BSB O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. 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 3:7And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
- Ps 10:1Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
- Ps 28:1Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
- Ps 38:21Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me.
- Ps 71:12O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.
- Isa 65:6Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,
- Ps 22:11Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
- Ps 39:12Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
- Ps 50:21These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
- Ps 22:19But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
- Ps 83:1Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
- Acts 7:34I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into 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.