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Christianity

Psalms 83When Nations Conspire Together

Summary

Psalm 83, the last psalm attributed to Asaph, asks God not to keep silence while a confederacy of neighbors plots to cut off Israel so its name is remembered no more. It lists ten peoples, among them Edom, the Ishmaelites, Moab, Ammon, Amalek, the Philistines, Tyre and Assyria. The psalmist prays that God deal with them as with Sisera, Jabin, Oreb and Zeeb in the days of the judges, so that they will seek his name and know he alone is most high.

Key verse

“That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.”

Psalms 83:18

Themes

  • Allied Enemies
  • God's Silence
  • Justice in History
  • Knowing God's Name

Text

1

Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.

2

For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.

3

They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.

4

They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

5

For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:

6

The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;

7

Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;

8

Assur 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.

11

Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:

12

Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.

13

O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.

14

As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;

15

So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.

16

Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.

17

Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:

18

That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.

Across traditions

  • Christianity

    Judges 7: Gideon and the Midianite Princes

    Judges 7:25 tells of the Midianite princes Oreb and Zeeb being killed after Gideon's victory, and Judges 4 tells of Sisera and Jabin. Psalm 83 recalls these episodes as models for the deliverance it asks for.

  • Christianity

    Exodus 6: The Name JEHOVAH

    Exodus 6:3 is another of the few verses where the King James Version spells out God's personal name as JEHOVAH, as Psalm 83:18 does. Elsewhere the KJV usually prints it as LORD in capitals.

Questions about Psalms 83

Why does Psalm 83 use the name Jehovah?

Psalm 83:18 is one of only a handful of verses where the King James Version spells out God's Hebrew name as JEHOVAH, along with Exodus 6:3 and Isaiah 12:2 and 26:4. Most translations use LORD, and Jewish practice does not pronounce the name.

Is Psalm 83 a prophecy about modern events?

Some modern readers link Psalm 83 with current conflicts in the Middle East, but the psalm is written as a prayer, not a prediction, and its list reflects Israel's ancient neighbors. Most commentators read it as a lament from a specific crisis whose date is uncertain.