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Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
Psalms 78:65 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep, like a mighty man who shouts by reason of wine.
  • KJV Then the LORD awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
  • BSB Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.
  • NASB ¶Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep, Like a warrior overcome by wine.
  • NLT Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep, like a warrior aroused from a drunken stupor.

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

Then the Lord arose as if waking, like a warrior roused. God moved decisively to defend His people.

Overview

God is poetically depicted 'as one out of sleep,' rising like a mighty man to act. The vivid image marks the turning point from judgment to deliverance. It assures believers that God's apparent silence is never abandonment, and that He will surely rise to vindicate His name and rescue His own.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Ps 44:23Wake up! Why do you sleep, Lord? Arise! Don’t reject us forever.
  • Ps 7:6Arise, Yahweh, in your anger. Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries. Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.
  • Isa 51:9Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Yahweh! Awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Isn’t it you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the monster?
  • Isa 42:13–14Yahweh will go out like a mighty man. He will stir up zeal like a man of war. He will raise a war cry. Yes, he will shout aloud. He will triumph over his enemies.
  • Ps 73:20As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 78:65YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 78:65 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.