Psalm 44:23

Translations

Modern

Wake up, O Lord! Why are You sleeping? Arise! Do not reject us forever.

Traditional

Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.

Literal

Rouse Yourself! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Awake! Do not reject us forever.

Latin

Exsurge; quare obdormis, Domine? exsurge, et ne repellas in finem.

Original

Hebrew

English

Wake up, O Lord! Why are You sleeping? Arise! Do not reject us forever.

Notes

Psalms 44:23

Wake up: Biblical authors often call for God’s attention in a crisis (Psalms 35:23; 44:23; 73:20; 80:2; Mark 4:38).

Psalms 44:23–26

In the end, God’s people can turn to the Lord and trust him for rescue. Their petition for God to remedy their situation is as strong as their lament about God’s rejection.

Psalms 44:1–26

This national lament after a defeat in battle continues the tone of the previous two psalms. It reflects on an unspecified moment in Israel's history and calls on God for salvation. The people:

recite God's past acts of rescue (Psalm 44:1–3),
recognize God's power to save (Psalm 44:4–8),
describe their humiliation in exile (Psalm 44:9–16),
claim their innocence and lament the injustice of their current situation (Psalm 44:17–22), and
cry for vindication (Psalm 44:23–26).

Theme notes and profiles

Complaints Questions and Doubt

Related verses

Psalm 78:65
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.
Psalm 7:6
Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; rise up against the fury of my enemies. Awake, my God, and ordain judgment.
Psalm 88:14
Why, O LORD, do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me?
Psalm 74:1
A Maskil of Asaph. Why have You rejected us forever, O God? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?
Psalm 77:7
“Will the Lord spurn us forever and never show His favor again?
Psalm 35:23
Awake and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord!
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?
Psalm 59:4–5
For no fault of my own, they move swiftly to attack me. Arise to help me, and take notice.
Mark 4:38
But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him and said, “Teacher, don’t You care that we are perishing?”
Psalm 44:9
But You have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go forth with our armies.
Psalm 12:5
“For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”

Parallels

Romans 8:35–39

People

LORD: Names or title used to refer to God

Glossary

David Korahite, Korathite Music Numbers, Book of Psalms, Book of

Topics

Afflictions and Adversities: Prayer In Anthropomorphisms: Miscellaneous Acts and States of Mind Attributed to Sleeping Murmuring: Against God

Psalm 44:23

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