Psalms 83
Read Psalms 83 (WEB)+
1God, don’t keep silent. Don’t keep silent, and don’t be still, God. 2For, behold, your enemies are stirred up. Those who hate you have lifted up their heads. 3They conspire with cunning against your people. They plot against your cherished ones. 4“Come,” they say, “let’s destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” 5For they have conspired together 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; 8Assyria also is joined with them. They have helped the children of Lot. Selah. 9Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon; 10who perished at Endor, who became as dung for the earth. 11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb; yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna; 12who said, “Let us take possession of God’s pasture lands.” 13My God, make them like tumbleweed; like chaff before the wind. 14As the fire that burns the forest, as the flame that sets the mountains on fire, 15so pursue them with your tempest, and terrify them with your storm. 16Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, Yahweh. 17Let them be disappointed and dismayed forever. Yes, let them be confounded and perish; 18that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth.
World English Bible (public domain)
“"O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!"”
Psalms 83:1
Summary
Psalm 83 is a communal lament in which the psalmist, Asaph, beseeches God to intervene against a coalition of enemies that threaten Israel. The nations, described as God's enemies, are plotting against His people, seeking to destroy them entirely. The psalmist lists the enemies, emphasizing the multitude and unity of the threat. Asaph calls on God to act as He did in former days against ancient foes, invoking past victories to inspire confidence. The plea is for God to respond fiercely, to confound and disgrace the nations, ultimately seeking their conversion rather than mere destruction. The psalm concludes with the desire that the opponents recognize the Lord's sovereignty and seek His name.
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