Psalms 73:20 Meaning: When God’s Reality Wakes Us
As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.
As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.
As a dream when one awaketh, So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image.
As a dream from awakening, O Lord, In awaking, their image Thou despisest.
As a dream, when one awaketh, wilt thou, Lord, on arising despise their image.
Meaning in one sentence
Why the psalmist called the wicked's prosperity a dream, and what 'when you awake' really means for those who envy the powerful.
Context
Psalm 73 is a personal story of faith under pressure. The writer, Asaph, was honest enough to admit that he almost lost his footing. He watched the wicked thrive, healthy, wealthy, arrogant, while he struggled to stay faithful. It made no sense. The harder he tried to understand, the more it hurt. Then he went into God’s sanctuary. There he saw their end: a slippery path that leads to destruction. Everything they had was suddenly gone. In verse 20 he puts it in one vivid picture: their whole life of success was only a dream. When God acts, the dream shatters. This verse is the turning point. It answers the question that nearly destroyed his faith.
Key Words
The Hebrew word for dream (chalom) here is the same word used for ordinary dreams, not visions from God, just the flimsy images that fill a sleeping mind. In a dream you can be rich, admired, safe. Then you wake up and none of it is real. That is what the psalmist says the wicked’s prosperity is like.
The phrase when you awake is debated. The word ur means to rouse or stir oneself. Some read it as God rousing himself to act in judgment. Others read it the way Barnes does: as the dreamer waking up, the moment when the illusion ends. Both readings point to the same truth: the dream does not last.
The image (tselem) God despises is not a statue. It means a shadow, a phantom, a mere appearance of substance. The Commentary of Matthew Henry calls it a vain show. All the prestige and power that looked so solid was no more than a ghost. God sees it for what it is, and that seeing is itself a judgment.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christian readers across traditions have focused on two questions in this verse. First, whose awakening is in view? Reformers like Calvin and the Geneva Bible understood it as God waking up to judgment, the Lord who seemed inactive suddenly acts. Other commentators, such as Barnes and the Cambridge Bible, read it as the wicked person waking from the dream of life. Both are faithful to the text, and the difference matters less than the shared point: the end is real, and the boasting is not.
The second question is the image. Catholic readers have often noted the echo of Genesis, the word tselem is used for humanity made in God’s image. Here it is twisted: the wicked bear only a phantom of that likeness. Protestant commentators like Gill speak of the image of sin and Satan that will be destroyed. What unites all readings is the conviction that God's final assessment will strip away every false front.
A common misunderstanding
A common misreading is to think God is asleep on the job, and the verse is a prayer for him to wake up. In fact, the language pictures the dreamer waking, or God appearing to wake, but the point is never that God was negligent. He is not asleep. He has simply allowed the dream to run its course. The action of waking is the moment of truth, not the moment God starts paying attention.
Living This Out
You know someone whose success looks effortless. They cut corners, and it seems to pay off. Maybe you have wondered if honesty is even worth it. This verse asks you to hold a different picture in your mind. Their success is a dream. It feels solid, but it will not last. That is not a threat; it is a truth about the nature of things.
This week, when envy whispers, remember the dream. Do not let the phantom of their life define yours. Let God’s reality, steady, enduring, true, be the ground you stand on. You can afford to be honest, kind, patient. The dream will break. You will still be holding God’s hand.
Main takeaway: The wealth and power of the wicked are a waking dream; only God’s judgment is real and lasting.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Have you ever dreamed you had a big toy, then woke up and it was gone? That is what the Bible says about people who do wrong things and seem to get away with it. Their good stuff is just a dream. God sees the real story.
For ages 9, 12
When you see someone cheat on a test and get a good grade, or bully others and become popular, it can feel unfair. The psalmist felt that way too. But he learned something important in God’s presence: those things are like a dream. They look real now, but they will not last. Your job is to keep following God even when it seems like cheaters are winning. God sees everything, and what He says matters most.
Questions People Ask
What does 'image' mean in Psalm 73:20?
The Hebrew word is tselem, which usually means an image or likeness, like a statue. But here it means a phantom, a mere shadow, something that looks substantial but is not. God despises that empty appearance because it has no real worth.
Is God asleep in this verse?
No. The language of God awakening is a metaphor. It compares God's delayed judgment to someone who lets a dream run its course before intervening. God is never unaware; He chooses the right moment to act.
Who is the dreamer in this verse?
Interpreters differ. Some say the wicked themselves are dreaming of prosperity and will wake to find it gone. Others say the psalmist is the dreamer, waking from his own envy to see reality. Both readings agree that the dream is an illusion.
How does this fit with the rest of Psalm 73?
The psalm begins with Asaph nearly losing faith because the wicked prosper. In the sanctuary he sees their end. Verse 20 is the climax: their entire life of ease is a fleeting dream. It answers the question that tormented him, the wicked do not actually have a lasting advantage.
What does 'despise their image' teach us about God's judgment?
It shows that God's judgment is not merely punishment; it is also a revelation of what something is truly worth. When God despises the image of the wicked, He is showing that their apparent success was never real. His judgment exposes the emptiness behind the show.
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