Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 55:22 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 22. 22Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 55:22: Within “Betrayal inside the city and a burden cast on God: Prayer, burden, and final trust,” the line “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee” supplies one distinct parallel claim, image, address, or response.
Evening, morning, and noon become the counter-rhythm to the city's walls
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 55:16–23. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 55:16–23
- Psalms 55:1–23
Read Psalms 55:22 with 55:16–23 and 55:1–23. Read alone, “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee” could lose the individual voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 55:16–23, the individual voice carries the movement “Prayer, burden, and final trust” as part of “Betrayal inside the city and a burden cast on God.” Its lament form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 55:16–23 brings to a close “Violence in the city and betrayal by a companion” within Psalm 55 by carrying “Prayer, burden, and final trust.” The turn from “Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their…” to “As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me” explains why this movement occurs here. Within that relationship, Psalm 55:22 adds the distinct poetic line “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee” within “Prayer, burden, and final trust,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope.
Follow the Context
- Identify the individual voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 55:16–23; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 55:16–23, the individual voice carries the movement “Prayer, burden, and final trust” as part of “Betrayal inside the city and a burden cast on God.” Its lament form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
- This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The prayer names trauma from a close companion; it does not require unsafe reconciliation, secrecy, or remaining near an abuser.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 55:22 does not allow “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse adds the distinct poetic line “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee” within “Prayer, burden, and final trust,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. The complete movement is “Prayer, burden, and final trust.” This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The prayer names trauma from a close companion; it does not require unsafe reconciliation, secrecy, or remaining near an abuser.
What Remains True
Because this verse serves “Betrayal inside the city and a burden cast on God: Prayer, burden, and final trust,” its enduring claim is proportionate: Trust can be voiced within danger and delay without becoming a guarantee of immunity or a reason to reject practical care. Psalm 55:22 adds the distinct poetic line “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee” within “Prayer, burden, and final trust,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. The local movement is “Prayer, burden, and final trust.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The prayer names trauma from a close companion; it does not require unsafe reconciliation, secrecy, or remaining near an abuser.
How It Can Shape Life
- The practice should match “Betrayal inside the city and a burden cast on God: Prayer, burden, and final trust” rather than an isolated slogan. Psalm 55:22 adds the distinct poetic line “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee” within “Prayer, burden, and final trust,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. Therefore, Speak the trust in “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee” alongside the actual danger, then use every wise source of shelter, counsel, treatment, or community support available.
Teach It Back
Build a short teaching of Psalm 55:22: quote “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee,” summarize “Betrayal inside the city and a burden cast on God: Prayer, burden, and final trust,” show the line's role, cite the checked context, preserve one alternative, derive a safe practice, and make this negation explicit: This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The prayer names trauma from a close companion; it does not require unsafe reconciliation, secrecy, or remaining near an abuser.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 55:16–23 — Betrayal inside the city and a burden cast on God: Prayer, burden, and final trustSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
Where care is needed
The prayer names trauma from a close companion; it does not require unsafe reconciliation, secrecy, or remaining near an abuser.
This Lens uses WHO guidance only to avoid unsafe modern communication about distress, isolation, death wishes, or severe loss; it does not diagnose the speaker or replace exegesis and appropriate care.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 55:16–23, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 55:16–23
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 55:16–23.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 55 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 55:16–23
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 55:16–23
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 55 for Psalms 55:16–23
Open NETS Psalms ↗peer reviewed open access research overview
An Overview of the Study of Imprecatory Psalms: Reformed and Evangelical Approaches to the Interpretation of Imprecatory Psalms
Daniel Simango and P. Paul Krüger
Old Testament Essays 29.3, 2016
Supports: Major historical, literary, covenantal, ethical, and reception approaches to curses and enemy language.
Exact location: Simango and Krüger, 'An Overview of the Study of Imprecatory Psalms,' OTE 29.3 (2016), pp. 581–600, complete approach survey; applied to Psalms 55:16–23
Open the imprecatory-psalm overview ↗peer reviewed open access literary and ethical study
Embracing the Psalter's imprecatory words in the 21st century
Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford
Acta Theologica Supplementum 32, 2021
Supports: Imprecation retained as difficult prayer and communal speech without converting violent wishes into commands or erasing Jewish reception.
Exact location: deClaissé-Walford, 'Embracing the Psalter's imprecatory words,' Acta Theologica Suppl. 32 (2021), pp. 275–292, especially literary, liturgical, trauma, and ethical proposal; applied to Psalms 55:16–23
Open deClaissé-Walford on imprecation ↗public health communication guidance
Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals, Update 2023
World Health Organization
World Health Organization, 2023
Supports: Communication safeguards against romanticizing, sensationalizing, diagnosing, blaming, or simplifying despair, isolation, death wishes, and severe loss; not exegesis.
Exact location: WHO, Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals, Update 2023, quick guide p. xiii and dos and don'ts pp. 11–16; applied only to modern safety-aware presentation of Psalms 55:16–23
Open the WHO communication guide ↗