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Psalm 35:22
You have seen it, LORD. Don’t keep silent. Lord, don’t be far from me.
20For they don’t speak peace, but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, “Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!”
22You have seen it, LORD. Don’t keep silent. Lord, don’t be far from me.
23Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God! My Lord, contend for me!
24Vindicate me, LORD my God, according to your righteousness. Don’t let them gloat over me.
Notice
God has seen the deceit, yet the plea for him to speak remains urgent, a tension familiar when truth seems to go undefended.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
Where, if anywhere, are you waiting for God to act on what he has seen?
Write on thisWhat would you want to name before praying, “Lord, don’t be far from me.”?
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Where else Scripture says this
11 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Exodus 3:7The LORD 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 …Psalm 35 appeals to God as one who has seen; Exodus names the affliction he has seen and the sorrows he knows.
Psalm 10:1Why do you stand far off, LORD? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?Both prayers address the LORD in trouble, speaking with urgency about his apparent distance.
Psalm 28:1By David. To you, LORD, 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.Both prayers plead against God's silence; Psalm 28 describes that silence as a threat of descending into the pit.
Psalm 71:12God, don’t be far from me. My God, hurry to help me.Both prayers ask God not to be far away, with Psalm 71 adding an urgent plea for help.
Psalm 83:1A song. A Psalm by Asaph. God, don’t keep silent. Don’t keep silent, and don’t be still, God.Both psalms ask God not to keep silent, addressing him with direct pleas for a response.
Isaiah 65:6“Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will repay, yes, I will repay into their bosomPsalm 35 asks God to break his silence; Isaiah records God's declaration that he will break silence and repay.
Habakkuk 1:13You who have purer eyes than to see evil, and who cannot look on perversity, why do you tolerate those who deal treacherously and keep silent when the wicked …Both passages appeal to God's sight while protesting his silence in the face of deceit or treachery.
Job 11:11For he knows false men. He sees iniquity also, even though he doesn’t consider it.Both texts speak of God seeing wrongdoing, though Psalm 35 turns that conviction into a plea for his response.
Acts 7:34I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning. I have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you …Both passages speak of God having seen suffering; Acts also names his hearing and his action to deliver people in Egypt.
Ezekiel 7:22I will also turn my face from them, and they will profane my secret place. Robbers will enter into it, and profane it.The shared concern is God's withdrawal: Psalm 35 pleads against distance, while Ezekiel describes God turning his face away.
Exodus 33:7Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp, and he called it “The Tent of Meeting.” Everyone who sought the LORD …The link is limited to seeking the LORD: Exodus describes approaching a tent outside the camp, while Psalm 35 asks God to be near.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. feeling distant from God. waiting.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Trust that God has seen does not silence the plea for help. This prayer contains both confidence in his knowledge and distress at his apparent distance.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).