Psalm 74:23

Psalm 74:23, in plain English

Don't ignore the constant noise of Your enemies, the psalmist urges—their mockery and rebellion keep rising up like a never-ending roar that demands Your attention.

Why it's here

By the end of this psalm, you realize the psalmist isn't exaggerating about the persistence of the problem. It's not a one-time insult; it's relentless. The enemies aren't quiet or subtle. They're loud, aggressive, and unending. The psalmist is essentially saying: 'God, I know You can see what's happening. These enemies aren't hiding. Please don't pretend not to hear what everyone else can clearly hear.'

Who's speaking

The psalmist, making his final urgent appeal to God before the psalm ends.

Where it sits in the story

This captures a tension people of faith have always felt: if God is powerful, why doesn't He silence the mockers immediately? The psalm doesn't answer that mystery, but it does model what's honest to do—bring the raw frustration before God and ask Him to act. The psalm trusts that God hearing us is the first step toward His response.

The scholarly reading

The psalm concludes by demanding that God pay attention to the constant, mounting rebellion and blasphemy of His enemies, whose ceaseless opposition reaches heaven itself.

Language and setting

The final verse of the psalm does not offer resolution but rather intensification—a structural choice found throughout the Psalter where laments end not with answers but with increasingly urgent questions. The noun qôl (voice/sound) paired with 'adversaries and enemies establishes an auditory dimension to the conflict: the enemies' noise ascends—the verb 'alah suggesting both literal upward movement and transgressive violation of proper order. In the post-exilic context, this likely refers to the taunting and mockery of those who occupy the devastated land, the sneering of foreign powers, or perhaps the theological derision of those who question whether the God of Israel still exists or cares. The verb 'ashat (disregard) in the negative imperative creates a linguistic echo back to verse 21: God must not 'forget' (the root meaning of 'ashat in this context) the plight of the oppressed, nor can He 'disregard' the rebellion of the oppressors. The rhetorical structure creates a trap—God cannot ignore suffering on one hand while ignoring mockery on the other.

Voice

The psalmist as the voice of the afflicted community, now making what amounts to a final, almost desperate appeal: you must listen; you cannot remain unmoved by this relentless noise.

Significance

This ending resonates forward to Revelation 6:9-10, where the martyrs beneath the heavenly altar cry out with a strikingly similar complaint: 'How long, O Lord, holy and true, will you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?' The psalm thus establishes a pattern of faithful complaint that extends throughout Scripture—the insistence that God's justice must ultimately address not merely suffering but the proud defiance of those who mock Him. The 'uproar that ascends continually' prefigures the metaphor of prayer itself ascending to heaven, suggesting that even complaint and lamentation constitute a form of testimony when directed toward the God who must ultimately vindicate His name.

21Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame; may the poor and needy praise Your name.

22Rise up, O God; defend Your cause! Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.

23Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries, the uproar of Your enemies that ascends continually.

Read all of Psalm 74 — The temple is destroyed. The enemy has set up their banners. How long, O God, will the foe mock?