Psalms 83:1-11

God Implored to Confound His Enemies.

1 O God, 1do not remain quiet; 2Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still.
2 For behold, Your enemies 3make an uproar, And 4those who hate You have 5exalted themselves.
3 They 6make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against 7Your treasured ones.
4 They have said, "Come, and 8let us wipe them out as a nation, That the 9name of Israel be remembered no more."
5 For they have 10conspired together with one mind; Against You they make a covenant:
6 The tents of 11Edom and the 12Ishmaelites, 13Moab and the 14Hagrites;
7 15Gebal and 16Ammon and 17Amalek, 18Philistia with the inhabitants of 19Tyre;
8 20Assyria also has joined with them; They have become a help to the 21children of Lot. Selah.
9 Deal with them 22as with Midian, As 23with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon,
10 Who were destroyed at En-dor, Who 24became as dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like 25Oreb and Zeeb And all their princes like 26Zebah and Zalmunna,

Psalms 83:1-11 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 83

\\<>\\. This is the last of the psalms that bear the name of Asaph, and some think it was written by him on occasion of David's smiting the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Edomites, and others, 2Sa 8:1-14, but these did not conjunctly, but separately, fight with David, and were overcome by him; whereas those this psalm makes mention of were in a confederacy together; and besides, the Tyrians in David's time were in friendship with him; but are here mentioned as joining with others against Israel, Ps 83:7, others are of opinion that this was prophetic delivered out with respect to future times, either to the conspiracy of the enemies of the Jews against them in the times of the Maccabees, ``Now when the nations round about heard that the altar was built and the sanctuary renewed as before, it displeased them very much. &c.'' (1 Maccabees 5:1) or rather to the confederacy of the Moabites, Ammonites, and others, in the times of Jehoshaphat, 2Ch 20:1, so Kimchi, Arama, and the generality of interpreters: perhaps reference is had to the enemies of God's people, from age to age, both in the Old and in the New Testament; R. Obadiah understands it of the war of Gog and Magog.

Cross References 26

  • 1. Psalms 28:1; Psalms 35:22
  • 2. Psalms 109:1
  • 3. Psalms 2:1; Isaiah 17:12
  • 4. Psalms 81:15
  • 5. Judges 8:28; Zechariah 1:21
  • 6. Psalms 64:2; Isaiah 29:15
  • 7. Psalms 27:5; Psalms 31:20
  • 8. Esther 3:6; Psalms 74:8; Jeremiah 48:2
  • 9. Psalms 41:5; Jeremiah 11:19
  • 10. Psalms 2:2; Daniel 6:7
  • 11. 2 Chronicles 20:10; Psalms 137:7
  • 12. Genesis 25:12-16
  • 13. 2 Chronicles 20:10
  • 14. 1 Chronicles 5:10
  • 15. Joshua 13:5; Ezekiel 27:9
  • 16. 2 Chronicles 20:10
  • 17. 1 Samuel 15:2
  • 18. 1 Samuel 4:1; 1 Samuel 29:1
  • 19. Ezekiel 27:3; Amos 1:9
  • 20. 2 Kings 15:19
  • 21. Deuteronomy 2:9
  • 22. Judges 7:1-24
  • 23. Judg 4:7, 15, 21-24
  • 24. Zephaniah 1:17
  • 25. Judges 7:25
  • 26. Judges 8:12, 21

Footnotes 7

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