Psalms 83

King James Version

Full text for Psalms Chapter 83

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.

9¶ Do unto them as [unto] the Midianites; as [to] Sisera, as [to] Jabin, at the brook of Kison:

10[Which] 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.

AI Analysis

AI Summaries

Short Summary

Psalm 83 is an urgent prayer by Asaph, imploring God to break His silence and act against a confederacy of nations plotting to destroy Israel and erase its name. The psalmist calls upon God to defeat these enemies with the same decisive power He displayed against past foes like the Midianites and Sisera. The ultimate aim is for God's adversaries to be shamed, or for all to acknowledge JEHOVAH as the Most High over all the earth.

Medium Summary

Psalm 83 opens with Asaph's urgent cry to God, beseeching Him to abandon His silence and intervene against a formidable alliance of nations. The psalmist reveals that these enemies, including Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Assyria, have conspired with one consent to cunningly plot against God's people, aiming to cut off Israel from being a nation and obliterate its remembrance. He appeals to God to replicate His past victories, specifically citing the destruction of the Midianites, Sisera, and Jabin, whose nobles were overthrown. The prayer intensifies, asking God to make the enemies like a wheel and stubble before the wind, consumed by divine tempest and storm. The psalmist desires their faces to be filled with shame, hoping they might then seek the LORD's name. Ultimately, the plea culminates in the desire that through their confusion and perishing, all humanity may recognize JEHOVAH alone as the Most High over all the earth.

Long Summary

Psalm 83, attributed to Asaph, commences with an impassioned plea for God to break His silence and actively intervene against a hostile confederacy. The psalmist highlights the tumultuous actions of God's enemies, who have lifted up their heads and taken crafty counsel against His hidden ones, His chosen people. Their explicit goal is to utterly destroy Israel, ensuring that the name of the nation is no longer remembered. The psalm then meticulously lists the nations forming this alliance, including the tabernacles of Edom, the Ishmaelites, Moab, the Hagarenes, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, the Philistines, Tyre, and Assur, emphasizing their unified consent in this conspiracy against God Himself. Asaph then shifts to a fervent request for divine judgment, invoking historical precedents of God's mighty acts. He asks God to deal with these present enemies as He did with the Midianites, Sisera, and Jabin at the brook Kison, whose forces perished and became as dung. Specifically, he requests that their nobles be made like Oreb and Zeeb, and their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who once sought to possess the houses of God. The psalmist's prayer for their destruction is vivid, asking God to make them like a wheel, swiftly scattered like stubble before the wind, and consumed like wood by fire. He implores God to persecute them with tempest and make them afraid with storm. The purpose of this severe judgment is twofold: first, that their faces might be filled with shame, potentially leading them to seek the name of the LORD. Second, and more emphatically, that they may be confounded, troubled, put to shame, and perish, so that all men may unequivocally know that JEHOVAH, whose name alone is Most High, is supreme over all the earth. This psalm is thus a powerful cry for divine vindication and the revelation of God's sovereignty through the defeat of His adversaries.

Core Concepts

  • Confederacy of NationsA unified alliance of ten distinct nations (Edom, Ishmaelites, Moab, Hagarenes, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistines, Tyre, Assur) who have conspired together against God's people.
  • Threat to Israel's ExistenceThe primary aim of the confederacy is to "cut them off from being a nation" and ensure "that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance," signifying an existential threat.
  • Divine Silence and InterventionThe psalmist's initial plea is for God to break His silence and actively intervene, indicating a perceived period of divine inactivity in the face of enemy aggression.
  • Appeal to Historical PrecedentThe psalmist reminds God of past victories against foes like the Midianites, Sisera, and Jabin, requesting that God's current enemies suffer a similar decisive defeat.
  • Ultimate Purpose of JudgmentThe desired outcome of God's judgment is not merely destruction, but either that the enemies might "seek thy name, O LORD," or, more broadly, that all humanity may "know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth."
  • God's Sovereignty (JEHOVAH)The psalm culminates in the declaration that the ultimate goal of divine action is to reveal and confirm that JEHOVAH, by name, is the Most High over all the earth, emphasizing His unique and supreme authority.