Psalms 83:13

PRAYER FOR OVERTHROW OF ALL ISRAEL'S ENEMIES

"O God, make them like the whirling dust;

As stubble before the wind.

And the fire that burneth the forest,

And as the flame that setteth the mountains on fire,

Pursue them with thy tempest,

And terrify them with thy storm.

Fill their faces with confusion,

That they may seek thy name, O Jehovah.

Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;

Yea, let them be confounded and perish;

That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah,

Art the Most High Over all the earth."

"Like a wheel" (Psalms 83:13). This rendition is given in some versions instead of "like the whirling dust"; and Leupold understood it as a reference to "the tumbleweed."[15]

"The whirling dust" (Psalms 83:13). This was possibly a whirlwind, a phenomenon that appears but a little while, soon vanishing away.

"As the fire that burneth the forest" (Psalms 83:14). There is no more terrible figure of destruction than that of a forest fire; and the meaning here is that the psalmist is praying that the destruction of Israel's enemies will be as thorough and complete as that caused by a forest fire.

"Pursue with thy tempest ... terrify with thy storm" (Psalms 83:15). The psalmist prays not merely for the destruction of their foes, but for God to overwhelm them also with fright and terror.

"That they may seek thy name, O Jehovah" (Psalms 83:16). Leupold understood this line as a prayer for the conversion of Israel's enemies. "These words are obviously another way of saying, "That they may be turned from their evil ways to God."[16] While freely admitting that this view could indeed be correct, the psalmist, nevertheless, called in the same breath for their shame and dismay forever, and that they might perish (Psalms 83:17). This may be explained by the assumption that the psalmist certainly expected no such conversion on the part of his enemies.

"Thou whose name is Jehovah, art the Most High over all the earth" (Psalms 83:18). We have been greatly surprised by the frequency with which Jehovah is called "Most High" in the Psalms. A very necessary deduction from the instance of this here is that "all Israel" accepted "Most High" as a legitimate appellation of Jehovah. The prayer is here that even all of the enemies of God and of Israel may come into that same knowledge.