Psalm 73:20
New International Version
They are like a dream when one awakes; when you arise, Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.

New Living Translation
When you arise, O Lord, you will laugh at their silly ideas as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.

English Standard Version
Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

Berean Standard Bible
Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.

King James Bible
As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

New King James Version
As a dream when one awakes, So, Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image.

New American Standard Bible
Like a dream when one awakes, Lord, when stirred, You will despise their image.

NASB 1995
Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.

NASB 1977
Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, Thou wilt despise their form.

Legacy Standard Bible
Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.

Amplified Bible
Like a dream [which seems real] until one awakens, O Lord, when stirred, [You observe the wicked], You will despise their image.

Christian Standard Bible
Like one waking from a dream, Lord, when arising, you will despise their image.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Like one waking from a dream, Lord, when arising, You will despise their image.

American Standard Version
As a dream when one awaketh, So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image.

Contemporary English Version
They will disappear, Lord, despised like a bad dream the morning after.

English Revised Version
As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
As [someone] gets rid of a dream when he wakes up, so you, O Lord, get rid of the thought of them when you wake up.

Good News Translation
They are like a dream that goes away in the morning; when you rouse yourself, O Lord, they disappear.

International Standard Version
Like a dream when one awakens, Lord, you will despise their image when you arise.

Majority Standard Bible
Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.

NET Bible
They are like a dream after one wakes up. O Lord, when you awake you will despise them.

New Heart English Bible
As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.

Webster's Bible Translation
As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image.

World English Bible
As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
As a dream from awakening, O Lord, "" In awaking, You despise their image.

Young's Literal Translation
As a dream from awakening, O Lord, In awaking, their image Thou despisest.

Smith's Literal Translation
As a dream of him awaking, O Jehovah, in awaking thou wilt despise their image.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
As the dream of them that awake, O Lord; so in thy city thou shalt bring their image to nothing.

Catholic Public Domain Version
As a dream is to those who awaken, O Lord, so will you reduce their image to nothing in your city.

New American Bible
They are like a dream after waking, Lord, dismissed like shadows when you arise.

New Revised Standard Version
They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
As one who awakes from a dream, so, O LORD, thou shalt despise their idolatry.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
It is like waking up when seeing a dream; LORD JEHOVAH, at cock crow you will despise their image.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
As a dream when one awaketh, So, O Lord, when Thou arousest Thyself, Thou wilt despise their semblance.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
As the dream of one awakening, O Lord, in thy city thou wilt despise their image.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Endow the King with Your Justice
19How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors! 20Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form. 21When my heart was grieved and I was pierced within,…

Cross References
Job 20:8
He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.

Isaiah 29:7-8
All the many nations going out to battle against Ariel—even all who war against her, laying siege and attacking her—will be like a dream, like a vision in the night, / as when a hungry man dreams he is eating, then awakens still hungry; as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking, then awakens faint and parched. So will it be for all the many nations who go to battle against Mount Zion.

Daniel 2:1
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.

Matthew 24:43
But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

Luke 12:39
But understand this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

1 Thessalonians 5:2-3
For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. / While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

2 Peter 3:10
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.

Revelation 3:3
Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.

Revelation 16:15
“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”

Job 27:20
Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest sweeps him away in the night.

Isaiah 41:11-12
Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish. / You will seek them but will not find them. Those who wage war against you will come to nothing.

Isaiah 47:11
But disaster will come upon you; you will not know how to charm it away. A calamity will befall you that you will be unable to ward off. Devastation will happen to you suddenly and unexpectedly.

Jeremiah 51:39
While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they may revel; then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up, declares the LORD.

Ezekiel 32:7-8
When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. / All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you, and I will bring darkness upon your land,’ declares the Lord GOD.

Obadiah 1:16
For as you drank on My holy mountain, so all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and gulp it down; they will be as if they had never existed.


Treasury of Scripture

As a dream when one wakes; so, O Lord, when you wake, you shall despise their image.

as a

Psalm 90:5
Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.

Job 20:8
He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.

Isaiah 29:7,8
And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision…

when

Psalm 7:6
Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded.

Psalm 78:65
Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.

their

Psalm 39:6
Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

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Arise Arising Aroused Awake Awakes Awakest Awaketh Awaking Despise Despisest Dream Ended Fantasies Form Image Mind Semblance Sleep Thyself Wakes Wilt
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Arise Arising Aroused Awake Awakes Awakest Awaketh Awaking Despise Despisest Dream Ended Fantasies Form Image Mind Semblance Sleep Thyself Wakes Wilt
Psalm 73
1. The prophet, prevailing in a temptation
2. Shows the occasion thereof, the prosperity of the wicked
13. The wound given thereby, diffidence
15. The victory over it, knowledge of God's purpose.














Like a dream
The Hebrew word for "dream" is "חֲלוֹם" (chalom), which often signifies something fleeting and insubstantial. In the context of this Psalm, the psalmist Asaph uses the metaphor of a dream to describe the temporary and illusory nature of the prosperity of the wicked. Dreams, while vivid and sometimes intense, dissipate upon waking, leaving no lasting impact. This imagery serves to remind believers that the apparent success of those who do not follow God's ways is ultimately transient and unsubstantial.

when one awakens
The act of awakening, "יָקוּץ" (yaquts), signifies a return to reality. In the biblical context, awakening often symbolizes enlightenment or a return to truth. Here, it suggests that when God "awakens," or acts in judgment, the true nature of the wicked will be revealed. This awakening is a call to believers to remain steadfast in faith, trusting that God's justice will prevail in His perfect timing.

so You, O Lord, awaken
The invocation of "O Lord" (יְהוָה, Yahweh) emphasizes the personal and covenantal relationship between God and His people. The psalmist appeals to God's sovereignty and righteousness. The idea of God awakening is anthropomorphic, attributing human characteristics to God to convey His active intervention in the world. It reassures believers that God is not indifferent to injustice; rather, He is fully aware and will act decisively.

You will despise
The Hebrew word "תָּבֶז" (tabez) means to disdain or hold in contempt. This strong language underscores God's righteous judgment against those who live in opposition to His will. It serves as a sobering reminder that God's patience should not be mistaken for tolerance of sin. For the faithful, it is a call to align with God's values, knowing that He will ultimately vindicate His holiness.

their form
The term "form" (צֶלֶם, tselem) can refer to appearance or image. In this context, it highlights the superficiality of the wicked's success. While they may appear prosperous and powerful, their form is empty and devoid of true substance. This echoes the biblical theme that God looks beyond outward appearances to the heart. For believers, it is an encouragement to focus on inner spiritual growth rather than external success.

(20) As a dream.--Better,

"As a man on waking (despises) his dream,

So, O Lord, on rousing thyself, thou wilt

Despise their shadow."

an image of the result of the Divine judgment on the vain and boastful tyrants, which may be illustrated by Henry V.'s rising with his royalty to self-respect:--

"I have long dreamt of such a kind of man,

So surfeit-swell'd, so old, and so profane;

But, being awake, I do despise my dream."

Verse 20. - As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. As men despise their dreams when they awake from them, so, when God "stirs up himself and awakes to judgment" (Psalm 35:23), he will despise such mere semblances of humanity (Psalm 39:6) as the wicked are.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Like a dream
כַּחֲל֥וֹם (ka·ḥă·lō·wm)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2472: A dream

when [one] awakens,
מֵהָקִ֑יץ (mê·hā·qîṣ)
Preposition-m | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 6974: Arise, be awake, watch

upon arising,
בָּעִ֤יר ׀ (bā·‘îr)
Preposition-b | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5782: To rouse oneself, awake

O Lord,
אֲ֝דֹנָי (’ă·ḏō·nāy)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 136: The Lord

You will despise
תִּבְזֶֽה׃ (tiḇ·zeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 959: To disesteem

their form.
צַלְמָ֬ם (ṣal·mām)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 6754: A phantom, illusion, resemblance, a representative figure, an idol


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OT Poetry: Psalm 73:20 As a dream when one wakes up (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 73:19
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