Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
English Standard Version (ESV)
The psalmist isn't just asking for God to make his eyes see better; he's praying for a spiritual revival, a "light" that brings back life and vigor. This isn't just about physical sight dimming before death, but about his very spirit growing dull and lifeless without God's presence.
Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
English Standard Version (ESV)
David is in deep distress, feeling abandoned by God and overwhelmed by enemies who seem to have the upper hand. He’s grappling with the question of "How long?" before God intervenes, questioning if God has forgotten him. This plea is a turning point, moving from desperate complaint to a direct, urgent prayer for God's attention and life-giving strength, fearing that without it, he'll succumb to despair and death.
Have you ever felt completely overlooked or ignored, especially by someone you desperately need to notice you? David starts this psalm with that gut-wrenching feeling.
David cries out, "Consider and answer me, O LORD my God." The Hebrew word for 'consider' here carries a sense of looking intently, of paying close attention. It's not just a casual glance, but a deliberate examination. David feels God has hidden His face (Psalm 13:1), and he needs God to see him, to acknowledge his distress. This isn't about God needing information; He knows everything. Instead, it's about David's need for tangible assurance that God is present and engaged with his suffering. When we feel unseen, our first instinct might be to withdraw or to give up. But David’s prayer shows us that the place to go is to God, asking Him to look, to consider, to engage.
What does it mean to have your 'eyes lightened'? It's more than just seeing better; it's about life itself hanging in the balance.
David asks God to "light up my eyes." This powerful metaphor speaks to more than just physical sight. In Scripture, bright eyes often symbolize vitality, health, and spiritual alertness. When eyes grow dim or heavy, it signals weakness, illness, or impending death. Think of someone fainting from hunger—their eyes grow dim. Conversely, restored strength brings back a brightness to the eyes. David is essentially praying for renewed life and vigor. He’s asking God to push back the encroaching darkness of despair and death, to infuse him with the very breath of life. This isn't a request for mere comfort, but for a fundamental restoration that only God, the source of all life, can provide.
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Death is often called a 'sleep' in the Bible. But David’s use of this phrase is chillingly immediate and personal.
David's ultimate fear is to "sleep the sleep of death." This isn't just a general contemplation of mortality; it's a desperate plea to avoid an imminent end. The commentators note that this phrase can refer to a natural death, but in David’s context, it signifies a profound despair where life's light is so diminished that death feels like a certainty, a deep, final slumber from which there is no waking. He’s not just asking God to delay death, but to rescue him from the spiritual and physical darkness that feels like death is already upon him. This prayer reveals a deep awareness that life and its vibrancy are gifts from God, and that without His intervention, he is perilously close to a complete and irreversible cessation.
Understand the original words
maveth · Hebrew Noun
A state of being in spiritual darkness, exhaustion, or physical decay. Death is often portrayed in Scripture as sleep, and God is the only one who can grant the 'light' of life and renewal.
This passage describes Jonathan's eyes being enlightened after tasting honey, illustrating how 'lighten mine eyes' signifies restored strength and vigor, not just physical sight.
Psalm 6:5This verse speaks of the grave and the inability to praise God in death, highlighting the psalmist's desperate plea to avoid the finality of 'the sleep of death'.
Job 30:26Job describes his suffering as bringing darkness and a longing for light, mirroring the psalmist's cry for God's intervention to prevent him from succumbing to despair and death.
John 11:11Jesus refers to death as a sleep when speaking of Lazarus, providing a direct scriptural parallel to the metaphor used in Psalms 13:3.
Ephesians 1:18This verse prays for the 'eyes of your heart' to be enlightened, showing how 'lighten mine eyes' can refer to spiritual understanding and renewed hope, not just physical recovery.
calvinPsalms 13:3-4: "Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;"
Behold, [or look upon me,] answer me, O Jehovah my God; enlighten mine eyes, lest I sleep in death; 4. Lest my enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those who afflict me rejoice if I should fall.
Look upon me, answer me. As when God does not promptly afford assistance to his servants, it seems to the eye of sense that he does not behold their necessities, David, for this reaso…
clarkePsalms 13:3: "Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;"
Consider and hear me - Rather, answer me. I have prayed; I am seeking thy face I am lost without thee; I am in darkness; my life draws nigh to destruction; if I die unforgiven, I die eternally. O Lord my God, consider this; hear and answer, for thy name's sake.
The psalmist isn't just asking for God to make his eyes see better; he's praying for a spiritual revival, a "light" that brings back life and vigor. This isn't just about physical sight dimming before death, but about his very spirit growing dull and lifeless without God's presence.
David is in deep distress, feeling abandoned by God and overwhelmed by enemies who seem to have the upper hand. He’s grappling with the question of "How long?" before God intervenes, questioning if God has forgotten him. This plea is a turning point, moving from desperate complaint to a direct, urgent prayer for God's attention and life-giving strength, fearing that without it, he'll succumb to despair and death.
David is in deep distress, feeling abandoned by God and overwhelmed by enemies who seem to have the upper hand. He’s grappling with the question of "How long?" before God intervenes, questioning if God has forgotten him. This plea is a turning point, moving from desperate complaint to a direct, urgent prayer for God's attention and life-giving strength, fearing that without it, he'll succumb to despair and death.
"Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death," — The psalmist isn't just asking for God to make his eyes see better; he's praying for a spiritual revival, a "light" that brings back life and vigor. This isn't just about physical sight dimming befor…
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Last reviewed October 2026