Psalm 83
Good News Translation
A Prayer for the Defeat of Israel's Enemies[a]
83 O God, do not keep silent;
do not be still, do not be quiet!
2 Look! Your enemies are in revolt,
and those who hate you are rebelling.
3 They are making secret plans against your people;
they are plotting against those you protect.
4 “Come,” they say, “let us destroy their nation,
so that Israel will be forgotten forever.”
5 They agree on their plan
and form an alliance against you:
6 the people of Edom and the Ishmaelites;
the people of Moab and the Hagrites;
7 the people of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,
and of Philistia and Tyre.
8 Assyria has also joined them
as a strong ally of the Ammonites and Moabites, the descendants of Lot.
9 (A)Do to them what you did to the Midianites,
and to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
10 You defeated them at Endor,
and their bodies rotted on the ground.
11 (B)Do to their leaders what you did to Oreb and Zeeb;
defeat all their rulers as you did Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “We will take for our own
the land that belongs to God.”
13 Scatter them like dust, O God,
like straw blown away by the wind.
14 As fire burns the forest,
as flames set the hills on fire,
15 chase them away with your storm
and terrify them with your fierce winds.
16 Cover their faces with shame, O Lord,
and make them acknowledge your power.
17 May they be defeated and terrified forever;
may they die in complete disgrace.
18 May they know that you alone are the Lord,
supreme ruler over all the earth.
Footnotes
- Psalm 83:1 HEBREW TITLE: A psalm by Asaph; a song.
Psalm 83
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 83
Prayer for Judgment on Israel’s Foes
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, do not keep silent;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!(A)
2 Even now your enemies are in tumult;
those who hate you have raised their heads.(B)
3 They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against those you protect.(C)
4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more.”(D)
5 They conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—(E)
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,(F)
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah
9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the Wadi Kishon,(G)
10 who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,(H)
12 who said, “Let us take the pastures of God
for our own possession.”(I)
13 O my God, make them like whirling dust,[a]
like chaff before the wind.(J)
14 As fire consumes the forest,
as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,(K)
15 so pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane.(L)
16 Fill their faces with shame,
so that they may seek your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
let them perish in disgrace.(M)
18 Let them know that you alone,
whose name is the Lord,
are the Most High over all the earth.(N)
Footnotes
- 83.13 Or a tumbleweed
Psalm 83
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
83 Unto the end, for the winepresses, a psalm for the sons of Core.
2 How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of host!
3 My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God.
4 For the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest for herself where she may lay her young ones: Thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
5 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord: they shall praise thee for ever and ever.
6 Blessed is the man whose help is from thee: in his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps,
7 In the vale of tears, in the place which be hath set.
8 For the lawgiver shall give a blessing, they shall go from virtue to virtue: the God of gods shall be seen in Sion.
9 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob.
10 Behold, O God our protector: and look on the face of thy Christ.
11 For better is one day in thy courts above thousands. I have chosen to be an abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners.
12 For God loveth mercy and truth: the Lord will give grace and glory.
13 He will not deprive of good things them that walk in innocence: O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
Psalm 83
The Message
83 1-5 God, don’t shut me out;
don’t give me the silent treatment, O God.
Your enemies are out there whooping it up,
the God-haters are living it up;
They’re plotting to do your people in,
conspiring to rob you of your precious ones.
“Let’s wipe this nation from the face of the earth,”
they say; “scratch Israel’s name off the books.”
And now they’re putting their heads together,
making plans to get rid of you.
6-8 Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia and the Tyrians,
And now Assyria has joined up,
Giving muscle to the gang of Lot.
9-12 Do to them what you did to Midian,
to Sisera and Jabin at Kishon Brook;
They came to a bad end at Endor,
nothing but dung for the garden.
Cut down their leaders as you did Oreb and Zeeb,
their princes to nothings like Zebah and Zalmunna,
With their empty brags, “We’re grabbing it all,
grabbing God’s gardens for ourselves.”
13-18 My God! I’ve had it with them!
Blow them away!
Tumbleweeds in the desert waste,
charred sticks in the burned-over ground.
Knock the breath right out of them, so they’re gasping
for breath, gasping, “God.”
Bring them to the end of their rope,
and leave them there dangling, helpless.
Then they’ll learn your name: “God,”
the one and only High God on earth.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson