Psalms Chapter 83 Summary - Key Points & Themes

Read Psalms Chapter 83 Summary

Keep not silent, O God. Your enemies make a tumult; those who hate You have lifted up their head. They plot against Your people, saying, 'Let us cut them off as a nation.' Edom, Moab, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, Tyre, and Assyria have allied together. Deal with them as with Midian, as Sisera at Kishon. Let them be ashamed and know that You alone are the Most High.

Original

Characters in This Chapter

David

Primary author of the Psalms, writing about half of the collection

Asaph

Levitical musician who wrote twelve psalms about suffering and God's justice

Moses

Author of Psalm 90, reflecting on God's eternity and human frailty

Lot

Nephew of Abraham

Places in This Chapter

Jerusalem

City of God, site of the temple, focus of pilgrimage psalms

The Temple

Center of worship where many psalms were sung in liturgy

Edom

Edom was the mountainous region south of the Dead Sea, inhabited by the descendants of Esau (also called Edom). The Edomites were relatives of Israel but often hostile. The prophet Obadiah pronounced judgment against Edom for their treatment of Judah during Jerusalem's fall.

Moab

Moab was a region east of the Dead Sea, inhabited by the descendants of Lot's son Moab. Ruth was a Moabite who famously left her homeland to follow Naomi to Bethlehem. Israel often had conflict with Moab, though King David entrusted his parents to the king of Moab for protection.

Position in Book

Book IChapters 1-41

Book IIChapters 42-72

Book IIIChapters 73-89

Mostly Asaph's psalms, wrestling with suffering and God's faithfulness to His covenant.

Book IVChapters 90-106

Book VChapters 107-150

Bible Bites

'The apple of my eye' comes from the Bible

The everyday phrase 'the apple of my eye', meaning someone deeply cherished, comes straight from Scripture: 'Keep me as the apple of your eye' (Psalm 17:8). Many common English sayings, from 'a drop in the bucket' to 'the writing on the wall,' were born in the Bible.

Psalm 17:8

The Longest Book by Chapter Count

With 150 chapters (psalms), the book of Psalms contains more chapters than any other book in the Bible. These ancient songs range from the shortest chapter in Scripture (Psalm 117 with just 2 verses) to the longest (Psalm 119 with 176 verses).

Psalms

Nobody knows what 'Selah' means

The little word 'Selah' appears about 74 times in the Psalms, and its exact meaning has been lost. It may signal a musical pause, a swelling of the instruments, or a moment to stop and reflect. After thousands of years, it remains one of the Bible's small unsolved mysteries.

Psalms