Psalms 73:20 Meaning and Explanation
“As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Psalm 73 speaks to the painful sight of arrogant people flourishing while those seeking God suffer. Verse 20 does not deny that their wealth, influence, and violence are real in the present. It gives the psalmist a truer measure of them: their impressive appearance will not endure before the Lord's righteous judgment.
The prosperity and power of the wicked can seem solid now, yet God will expose their seeming greatness as fleeting and empty, like a dream that vanishes when a person wakes.
The Context of Psalms 73:20
Asaph begins by confessing that God is good, then admits that envy nearly caused him to stumble. He has watched ungodly people prosper, speak proudly, and seem free from ordinary troubles. The problem becomes unbearable until he enters the sanctuary of God and understands their end. Verses 18-19 describe their sudden fall and desolation. Verse 20 extends that insight with the picture of a dream. Afterward Asaph confesses his own ignorance, rejoices that God holds and guides him, and concludes that drawing near to God is good.
What Does Psalms 73:20 Mean?
"As a dream when one awaketh" describes an experience that can feel vivid and weighty while it lasts, then disappears when waking reveals its true character. Asaph applies that picture to the ungodly person's "image," the impressive appearance or figure that had stirred his envy. Their present prosperity had looked permanent and desirable. Before the Lord, it is not secure. The words "when thou awakest" speak figuratively of God rising to act in judgment. God has not been unaware or inactive because evildoers have enjoyed a season of ease. When he acts, the appearance that deceived observers will be despised as empty and unworthy of honor.
The verse belongs to Asaph's answer to the question raised through the first half of the psalm: has cleansing one's heart been in vain when the wicked prosper? His answer comes through the sanctuary, where he receives sight of their end. Earlier he says they stand in slippery places and may be brought to desolation in a moment. The dream comparison explains why their security is so deceptive. Their wealth and public standing cannot give them lasting footing before God. Psalm 73 therefore calls us to judge prosperity in light of God's presence, righteousness, and final purpose, rather than by the ease or admiration someone possesses today.
Jesus also warns against treating earthly gain as the measure of a life. In the parable of the rich fool, a man plans confidently around abundance, only to learn that his life will be required of him that night. That warning fits Asaph's recovered vision: possessions cannot secure a person against God or make a life rich toward him. Psalm 73 does more than expose false confidence. Its final movement turns toward communion with God, who holds Asaph's hand, guides him by counsel, and is his portion for ever. The lasting good is found in nearness to the Lord, not in an image that fades under his judgment.
Bible Verses Related to Psalms 73:20
“Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.”
- Psalm 49:16-20
“Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.”
- Psalm 73:17-19
“And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
- Luke 12:16-21
“Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.”
- James 1:9-11
Where Psalms 73:20 Echoes in Scripture
Luke 12:16-21 offers a strong echo of Psalm 73:20 in Jesus' parable of the rich fool. The man sees abundant goods and confidently plans a long, comfortable future, yet God addresses the immediate reality of his life. Both passages uncover the fragility of prosperity when it is treated as lasting security. Jesus' conclusion directs attention toward being rich toward God, which accords with Asaph's later confession that God himself is his enduring portion.
How to Apply Psalms 73:20 Today
This verse can help us resist envy when someone else's life appears easier, richer, freer, or more admired than ours. We may acknowledge the ache honestly, as Asaph does, without letting appearances become our final judgment. It also invites sober self-examination. Our own reputation, savings, achievements, and plans are gifts to use responsibly, yet none can bear the weight of ultimate trust. In ordinary decisions, we can ask whether we are pursuing what lasts before God: integrity, mercy, worship, faithfulness, and a life near to him. Such practices steady us when public measures of success are misleading.
Reflection & Prayer
Where has an outward appearance of success begun to shape our desires or disturb our peace? Let us bring that comparison before God rather than hiding it. Suggested prayer: "Lord, give us the clear sight you gave Asaph. Keep us from envying what cannot last, and teach us to treasure your presence above every passing image. Amen."