This You have seen, O Lord; Do not keep silence. O Lord, do not be 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.
- BSB O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not 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 3:7Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
- Ps 10:1Why do you stand far off, Yahweh? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
- Ps 28:1By David. To you, Yahweh, 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.
- Ps 38:21Don’t forsake me, Yahweh. My God, don’t be far from me.
- Ps 71:12God, don’t be far from me. My God, hurry to help me.
- Isa 65:6“Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will repay, yes, I will repay into their bosom,
- Ps 22:11Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near. For there is no one to help.
- Ps 39:12“Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry. Don’t be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were.
- Ps 50:21You have done these things, and I kept silent. You thought that I was just like you. I will rebuke you, and accuse you in front of your eyes.
- Ps 22:19But don’t be far off, Yahweh. You are my help: hurry to help me.
- Ps 83:1A song. A Psalm by Asaph. God, don’t keep silent. Don’t keep silent, and don’t be still, God.
- Acts 7:34I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and have heard their groaning. I have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you into Egypt.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.