Psalm 83

A Prayer for the Defeat of Israel’s Enemies^b

83 O God,

do not keep silent; do not be still, do not be quiet!

²Look! Your enemies are in revolt,

and those who hate you are rebelling.

³They 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 for ever.”

⁵They agree on their plan

and form an alliance against you:

⁶the people of Edom and the Ishmaelites;

the people of Moab and the Hagrites;

⁷the people of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,

and of Philistia and Tyre.

⁸Assyria has also joined them

as a strong ally of the Ammonites and Moabites, the descendants of Lot.

^9*Do to them what you did to the Midianites,

and to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon.

¹⁰You defeated them at Endor,

and their bodies rotted on the ground.

^11*Do to their leaders what you did to Oreb and Zeeb;

defeat all their rulers as you did Zebah and Zalmunna,

¹²who said, “We will take for our own

the land that belongs to God.”

¹³Scatter them like dust, O God,

like straw blown away by the wind.

¹⁴As fire burns the forest,

as flames set the hills on fire,

¹⁵chase them away with your storm

and terrify them with your fierce winds.

¹⁶Cover their faces with shame, O Lord,

and make them acknowledge your power.

¹⁷May they be defeated and terrified for ever;

may they die in complete disgrace.

¹⁸May they know that you alone are the Lord,

supreme ruler over all the earth.