Psalm 83
God, kill our enemies
Bad-guy countries coming after God
A song, and a psalm of Asaph. [1]
1Please, God, say something.Don’t go mute on us.
Don’t go silent.
2Look, your enemies are making noise.
They hate you, and they’re getting pushy.
3They’re plotting against your people.
They’ve joined forces
To go after people you treasure.
4Their rallying cry is,
“Let’s wipe them off the map
So everyone will forget Israel ever existed.”
5They’re united in this conspiracy.
They’ve agreed to fight you.
6Coalition forces include
Families of Edom along with Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7Gebal, Ammon, Amalek,
Philistia, and people living in Tyre.
8Assyria is with them, too.
They’re helping Lot’s descendants,
Moab and Ammon. [2]
Instruments [3]
Show them who’s boss
9Smash them like you did Midian. [4]And like you did Sisera and Jabin
At the Battle of Kishon River. [5]
10They were wiped out at Endor,
And left dead in the dirt
As fertilizer for the ground.
11Destroy their leaders
Like you did Oreb and Zeeb. [6]
Kill all their leaders
Like you did Zebah and Zalmunna. [7]
12These are people who said,
“Let’s take God’s land from him.”
13Please God, turn them to dust.
Make them flakes of chaff
Blowing in the wind.
14Roll over them like fire in a forest,
Like flames that set mountains on fire.
15Chase them with your cyclone
And terrorize them with your storm.
16Slap their faces red with shame
So they’ll come to their senses
And surrender to you, LORD.
17Then leave them ashamed, confused,
Humiliated, and doomed forever.
18That will show them who’s God.
You alone, LORD, are the Most High,
The ruler of this world.
Footnotes
The subtitle wasn’t part of the original psalm. And the possible byline “of Asaph,” isn’t necessarily a byline. The vague phrase could mean the song was written by Asaph, about Asaph, or was inspired by Asaph. Asaph led a musical family in the tribe of Levi, one of the 12 tribes that made up the original nation of Israel. Levite families worked as priests and worship leaders and worship assistants for the Jewish nation. Asaph was a leader of worship music during the time of King David (1 Chronicles 16:5). His family carried on the musical tradition, showing up five centuries later, when a Jewish man named Nehemiah, in the 500s BC, helped rebuild Jerusalem after Babylonian invaders from what is now Iraq leveled Jerusalem in 586 BC.
The passage says only “Lot’s descendants,” without mentioning them by name. Genesis 19:36-38 identifies them as Moab and Ammon, nations in what is now the Arab country of Jordan.
The word in the original language of Hebrew is selah. Bible scholars haven’t figured out what it means yet, so all we can do is guess. It could mean “pause for effect,” “instrumental interlude,” or “choir singing ‘Amen.’” We’re offering a guess instead of selah. Though selah might be the better way to go because it’s always correct, it’s also always incomprehensible. “Instruments” has a good chance of being wrong, but at least we convey the idea that the Hebrew word behind it probably has something to do with enhancing the song.
Gideon’s army destroyed Midian’s army and executed their four leaders (Judges 7).
Deborah’s army overran an invading chariot corps, with help from a rainstorm that trapped the chariots in mud along the Kishon stream, which apparently turned into a flash flood (Judges 4, 5).
Leaders of Midian. Gideon killed them (Judges 7:25).
Kings of Midian. Gideon executed them (Judges 8:5-21).
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