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Psalm chapter 83

English Standard Version

1A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God! 2For behold, your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have raised their heads. 3They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against your treasured ones. 4They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!” 5For they conspire with one accord; against you they make a covenant— 6the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, 7Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8Asshur also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah 9Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, 10who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground. 11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God.” 13O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. 14As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, 15so may you pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane! 16Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O LORD. 17Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace, 18that they may know that you alone, whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the earth.
New International Version

1A song. A psalm of Asaph. O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God. 2See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads. 3With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish.
4Come,' they say, 'let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel's name is remembered no more.' 5With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you-- 6the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, 7Byblos, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre.
8Even Assyria has joined them to reinforce Lot's descendants. 9Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, 10who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground. 11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12who said, 'Let us take possession of the pasturelands of God.' 13Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like chaff before the wind. 14As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze, 15so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.
16Cover their faces with shame, LORD, so that they will seek your name. 17May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace. 18Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD-- that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
New American Standard Bible

1God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, God, do not be still. 2For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, And those who hate You have exalted themselves. 3They make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against Your treasured ones. 4They have said, 'Come, and let’s wipe them out as a nation, So that the name of Israel will no longer be remembered.' 5For they have conspired together with one mind; They make a covenant against You: 6The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites; 7Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8Assyria also has joined them; They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah 9Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera and Jabin at the river of Kishon, 10Who were destroyed at En-dor, Who became like dung for the ground. 11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, And all their leaders like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12Who said, 'Let’s possess for ourselves The pastures of God.' 13My God, make them like the whirling dust, Like chaff before the wind. 14Like fire that burns the forest, And like a flame that sets the mountains on fire, 15So pursue them with Your heavy gale, And terrify them with Your storm. 16Fill their faces with dishonor, So that they will seek Your name, Lord. 17May they be ashamed and dismayed forever, And may they be humiliated and perish, 18So that they will know that You alone, whose name is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth.
Christian Standard Bible

1God, do not keep silent. Do not be deaf, God; do not be quiet. 2See how your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have acted arrogantly. 3They devise clever schemes against your people; they conspire against your treasured ones. 4They say, "Come, let's wipe them out as a nation so that Israel's name will no longer be remembered." 5For they have conspired with one mind; they form an alliance against you -- 6the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, 7Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
8Even Assyria has joined them; they lend support to the sons of Lot. Selah 9Deal with them as you did with Midian, as you did with Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River. 10They were destroyed at En-dor; they became manure for the ground. 11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, and all their tribal leaders like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12who said, "Let's seize God's pastures for ourselves." 13Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like straw before the wind. 14As fire burns a forest, as a flame blazes through mountains, 15so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm. 16Cover their faces with shame so that they will seek your name, Lord. 17Let them be put to shame and terrified forever; let them perish in disgrace. 18May they know that you alone -- whose name is the Lord -- are the Most High over the whole earth.
New Living Translation

1O God, do not be silent! Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, O God. 2Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies? Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up? 3They devise crafty schemes against your people; they conspire against your precious ones. 4'Come,' they say, 'let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.' 5Yes, this was their unanimous decision. They signed a treaty as allies against you — 6these Edomites and Ishmaelites; Moabites and Hagrites; 7Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites; and people from Philistia and Tyre.
8Assyria has joined them, too, and is allied with the descendants of Lot. Interlude
9Do to them as you did to the Midianites and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River. 10They were destroyed at Endor, and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil. 11Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did. Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12for they said, 'Let us seize for our own use these pasturelands of God!' 13O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind! 14As a fire burns a forest and as a flame sets mountains ablaze, 15chase them with your fierce storm; terrify them with your tempest. 16Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O Lord. 17Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Let them die in disgrace. 18Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.
King James Version

1{A Song or Psalm of Asaph.} Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. 2For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 3They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. 4They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. 5For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: 6The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; 7Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.
9Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison: 10Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth. 11Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: 12Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession. 13O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. 14As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; 15So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. 16Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD. 17Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: 18That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

What does Psalm chapter 83 mean?

Some psalms are considered "imprecatory:" they call on God to bring direct, literal, severe harm on some enemy. This is one such song. Other imprecatory psalms include Psalm 5, 10, 35, 58, 69, 109, and 140. God does not necessarily promise to deliver the results these passages request. Mostly, the imprecatory psalms are a window into the mindset of those suffering under the threat of evil and persecution.

This psalm is associated with the name Asaph, as are Psalms 50 and 73—82. However, it does not easily match any event in Old Testament history. The closest connection to this list of nations is the attack on Jerusalem during the reign of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20). If Psalm 83 refers to that exact moment, it would mean a successor to Asaph wrote this in his style (2 Chronicles 20:14), rather than it being written by Asaph himself. Some interpreters take this passage as a general statement: that Israel is perpetually surrounded by hateful enemies seeking her annihilation. Others believe this refers to a multinational invasion of Israel which had not yet occurred and will be fulfilled in or near the end times.

The psalm begins with a prayer that God would protect Israel. The appeal is for God to act, rather than to allow an attack to proceed. These aggressors are not acting at random. They are planning—plotting—and with murderous intent. They want more than victory. These enemies want to erase the Jewish people and dissolve even the memory of their existence (Psalm 83:1–4).

The ten groups listed as part of this coalition correspond to many of Israel's historic foes. Mentioned here are Edomites (Genesis 36:1), Ishmaelites (Genesis 16:3–¬4, 11–12), Moabites and Ammonites (Genesis 19:34–38; Numbers 25:1; Judges 10:7–8; 2 Samuel 12:26), Amalekites (Exodus 17:8; Judges 6:1; 1 Samuel 15:1–9; 30:1) and the city-state of Tyre (Joshua 19:29; Ezekiel 26:1–3). The region of Gebal (Ezekiel 27:9; 1 Kings 5:18; Joshua 13:5) and the Hagrites (1 Chronicles 5:10) are included, as well. Also noted are the infamous Philistines (Judges 3:1–3; 16:28–30; 1 Samuel 17:2–3; 2 Samuel 5:25). These nations represent threats from every direction, and in every part of Israel's history (Psalm 83:5–7).

The last assailant noted is Assyria—or Asshur—which became an especially powerful foe (Genesis 10:11; Jonah 1:1–2; 2 Kings 5:1–19; 17:6). That may be why Asaph refers to them as the "strong arm" of this coalition. Reference to the "children of Lot" probably means the Moabites and Ammonites, who originated in an incestuous incident between Lot and his own daughters (Genesis 19:34–38). Perhaps those two nations were leading this current campaign (Psalm 83:8).

Asaph's first request is that God echo the brutal judgments brought against enemies in Israel's past. His examples include Jabin and Sisera, Canaanite leaders who were defeated by Deborah and Barak (Judges 4:23–24). This led to Sisera's attempted escape and slaughter by a clever woman (Judges 4:17, 21). Asaph also mentions Midian, who survived when Israel failed to follow God's command just after leaving Egypt (Numbers 31:7ff). The same people later oppressed Israel (Judges 6:1) and were defeated by Gideon (Judges 7:12, 24–25). Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah, and Zalmunna were among the important Midianite leaders captured and executed in that campaign (Judges 8:3, 12) (Psalm 83:9–12).

The last portion of the psalm calls on God to bring justice to these nations, using the imagery of nature. Asaph asks that these attacking enemies be utterly destroyed and brought to shame. That sense of disgrace is not only a question of defeat. Asaph also recognizes that the better purpose of God's judgment is leading people to acknowledge Him as Most High (Psalm 83:13–18).
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