The Bible — World English Bible

Psalm 13

In brief

Psalm 13 is a psalm of David, a lament of six verses. Four times he asks “How long?”: he feels forgotten by God, weighed down by worries, threatened by an enemy. Then his prayer changes tone: he asks God to look and answer, and he ends with trust and song. It is a model of honest prayer in a trial that drags on.

The chapter in 3 parts

  1. v. 1-2The complaint: how long?
  2. v. 3-4The request: look at me, answer me
  3. v. 5-6The trust: I will sing to the Lord

1How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

2How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me?

3Behold, and answer me, Yahweh, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;

4lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him;” lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall.

5But I trust in your loving kindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation.

6I will sing to Yahweh, because he has been good to me.

Key verses

Verse 1-2
How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me?

David dares to say what he feels: God seems absent. The Psalms allow this honesty, and the complaint remains a prayer addressed to God.

Verse 3
Behold, and answer me, Yahweh, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;

The movement shifts: from asking how long, he moves to a request for an answer addressed to the Lord. Even in deep distress, he keeps saying my God.

Verse 5
But I trust in your loving kindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation.

Here trust comes before the visible answer. David chooses to lean on God's goodness, meaning his faithful love, before his situation changes.

Bible verses to meditate on

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What the sermons say

Psalm 13: God, Do You Hear Me?Arthur Fourniol sees in it a model of lament, prayer and thanksgiving for anyone who prays for a long time without an answer. In six verses, David goes from “How long?” to song.Read the summary →When God Goes Quiet, He's Shaping Your Heart: Jade's StoryJade shares about a year of God's silence. She discovers that this silence is not his absence, and that it can be the moment when God works deeply on the heart.Read the summary →

Frequently asked questions about Psalm 13

What does Psalm 13 mean?

Psalm 13 is the prayer of a believer who feels forgotten by God. He expresses his distress in four “how longs,” asks God to answer, then declares his trust in God's goodness. It teaches that you can be honest about your suffering while still trusting in God.

Who wrote Psalm 13?

The title attributes it to David. The text does not specify the circumstances: the enemy he mentions may recall the periods when Saul was pursuing him, or other threats. This vagueness lets every reader recognize their own trial in this prayer.

How can I pray with Psalm 13 when God seems silent?

Follow the three movements of the psalm. Tell God plainly what you feel. Ask him to look at you, to answer you and to give you light again. Then, even if nothing has changed, choose to recall his goodness and thank him for what he has already done. You can reread it every day during your time of waiting.

Articles quoting Psalm 13

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World English Bible translation — public domain.