Psalms 83:3-8

83:3 They carefully plot ¹  against your people,

and make plans to harm ²  the ones you cherish. ³ 

83:4 They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation! ⁴ 

Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”

83:5 Yes, ⁵  they devise a unified strategy; ⁶ 

they form an alliance ⁷  against you.

83:6 It includes ⁸  the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,

Moab and the Hagrites, ⁹ 

83:7 Gebal, ¹⁰  Ammon, and Amalek,

Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre. ¹¹ 

83:8 Even Assyria has allied with them,

lending its strength to the descendants of Lot. ¹²  (Selah)

[83:3]  ¹ tn Heb “they make crafty a plot.”

[83:3]  ² tn Heb “and consult together against.”

[83:3]  ³ tn The passive participle of the Hebrew verb צָפַן (tsafan, “to hide”) is used here in the sense of “treasured; cherished.”

[83:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “we will cause them to disappear from [being] a nation.”

[83:5]  ⁵ tn Or “for.”

[83:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “they consult [with] a heart together.”

[83:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[83:6]  ⁸ tn The words “it includes” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[83:6]  ⁹ sn The Hagrites are also mentioned in 1 Chr 5:10, 19-20.

[83:7]  ¹⁰ sn Some identify Gebal with the Phoenician coastal city of Byblos (see Ezek 27:9, where the name is spelled differently), though others locate this site south of the Dead Sea (see BDB 148 s.v. גְּבַל; HALOT 174 s.v. גְּבַל).

[83:7]  ¹¹ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[83:8]  ¹² tn Heb “they are an arm for the sons of Lot.” The “arm” is here a symbol of military might.