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Psalms 83

Psalms 83 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Psalm 83 is a plea for God not to stay silent while enemies gather against his people. The psalm names hostile nations, recalls past acts of deliverance, and asks God to act again. It ends by looking for a result greater than defeat: that the nations would know the Lord is Most High.

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What happens in Psalms 83?

This psalm opens with urgency as Asaph asks God to speak and act against those who are plotting in secret. The enemies are described as forming a broad alliance against God's people and against God himself. The prayer then turns to Israel's history, asking for the same kind of judgment seen in earlier victories over Midian and other oppressors. The psalm uses images of wind, fire, and storm to picture God's decisive intervention. It closes with a hope that shame and fear will lead the nations to recognize the Lord's supreme rule.

Psalm 83 is the final psalm attributed to Asaph in this section of the Psalter. It fits among prayers that ask God to defend his people in the face of threat and public hostility. The chapter looks back to Israel's history for confidence and forward to a day when God's name is honored by all nations.

Themes to notice

  • Divine silenceThe psalm begins with a cry that God would not remain quiet when danger is mounting.
  • Opposition to God's peopleEnemy nations are described as working together to erase Israel and resist the Lord himself.
  • God's supreme ruleThe prayer ends with the hope that all peoples will know the Lord is highest over the earth.

Questions for Psalms 83

  • Why does the psalm writer appeal to past victories when asking God to act now?
  • What does this chapter show about the connection between hostility toward God's people and resistance to God himself?
  • How does the ending shift the focus from defeat of enemies to recognition of the Lord's rule?

Read the full text of Psalms 83 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Psalms 83

O God, Be Not Silent

A song. A Psalm of Asaph.

1O God, be not silent; be not speechless;

be not still, O God.

2See how Your enemies rage,

how Your foes have reared their heads.

3With cunning they scheme against Your people

and conspire against those You cherish,

4saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation;

may the name of Israel be remembered no more.”

5For with one mind they plot together,

they form an alliance against You—

6the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,

of Moab and the Hagrites,

7of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,

of Philistia with the people of Tyre.

8Even Assyria has joined them,

lending strength to the sons of Lot.

Selah

9Do to them as You did to Midian,

as 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,

and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,

12who said, “Let us possess for ourselves

the pastures of God.”

13Make them like tumbleweed, O my God,

like chaff before the wind.

14As fire consumes a forest,

as a flame sets the mountains ablaze,

15so pursue them with Your tempest,

and terrify them with Your storm.

16Cover their faces with shame,

that they may seek Your name, O LORD.

17May they be ever ashamed and terrified;

may they perish in disgrace.

18May they know that You alone,

whose name is the LORD,

are Most High over all the earth.

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