Psalms 35:23

Awake and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord!

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, pleading for immediate intervention at a moment when the speaker has already noted divine observation and warned against silence or distance (Psalms 35:22). The appeal occurs between a declaration of God's awareness and a subsequent request for vindication by righteousness (Psalms 35:24).

The words — The Hebrew imperatives הָעִ֣ירָ/ה (ha.'I.ra/h) and וְ֭/הָקִיצָ/ה (Ve./ha.ki.tza/h) both command God to "wake up" or "arise." These verbs introduce the specific requests for judgment (לְ/מִשְׁפָּטִ֑/י, le./mish.pa.T/i) and legal cause (לְ/רִיבִֽ/י, le./ri.V/i) as urgent, actionable matters.

The thread — The same rhetorical pattern appears in Psalms 7:6, Psalms 44:23, and Psalms 59:4. Each passage pairs the command for God to awaken with a direct appeal for judgment or deliverance against attackers.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to treat prayer as an active summons rather than a passive hope. It frames the relationship between petitioner and God around the expectation that divine attention must be explicitly called forward.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

הָעִ֣ירָהha.'I.ra/hwake up/ !וְ֭הָקִיצָהVe./ha.ki.tza/hand/ awake/ !לְמִשְׁפָּטִ֑יle./mish.pa.T/ifor/ judgment/ my אֱלֹהַ֖י'e.lo.Ha/iO God/ my וַֽאדֹנָ֣יva./do.Naiand/ O Lord לְרִיבִֽי׃le./ri.V/ifor/ cause/ my

King James Version

Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.

Cross-references

Psalms 7:6 Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; rise up against the fury of my enemies. Awake, my God, and ordain judgment.
Psalms 44:23 Wake up, O Lord! Why are You sleeping? Arise! Do not reject us forever.
Psalms 59:4 For no fault of my own, they move swiftly to attack me. Arise to help me, and take notice.
Psalms 89:26 He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock of my salvation.’
Psalms 80:2 before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Rally Your mighty power and come to save us.
Psalms 142:5 I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
John 20:28 Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”
Isaiah 51:9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon?