Psalm 83:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: so may you pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane!

NIV: so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.

NASB: So pursue them with Your heavy gale, And terrify them with Your storm.

CSB: so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.

NLT: chase them with your fierce storm; terrify them with your tempest.

KJV: So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.

NKJV: So pursue them with Your tempest, And frighten them with Your storm.

This completes a thought begun in the prior verse (Psalm 83:14). Asaph began by praying that God would defeat a conspiracy of nations who sought to destroy Israel (Psalm 83:4–8). He then mentioned examples of divine vengeance from history, hoping the Lord would repeat those (Psalm 83:9–12). In this segment, Asaph is asking for specific punishments and calling on God's power to use nature for His purposes (Psalm 83:13–14). So far, this has compared the enemy to dust or chaff which are blown away, and God's justice to a raging forest fire.

Here, Asaph depicts the incredible power of the "tempest" and the "hurricane." The first Hebrew term is from sa'ar which can also be translated as "whirlwind" or "storm." The second is derived from supāh, which has similar meanings. The words are paired here more for poetic effect than as references to some exact weather event. For this reason, translations vary in which words are used to translate each term. The Mediterranean Sea experiences a version of hurricanes, and most places on earth can experience a true tornado; all the possible meanings of these words are weather patterns Asaph may have seen in person.

God often uses His control over nature to emphasize His power and ability. Jonah experienced a major storm as part of God's correction for disobedience (Jonah 1:4). Jesus calmed a raging sea storm with just a word (Mark 4:35–41).

Psalm 83:9–18 comes after Asaph's plea: that God will stop the coalition of enemies attempting to destroy Israel. Here, Asaph directly asks the Lord to punish these opponents. He asks God to disgrace them, annihilate them, and make them acknowledge that the Lord alone is the Most High over all the earth. These requests place this song among the "imprecatory psalms."

Asaph prays for God to intervene in a conspiracy. Many nations cooperate to erase Israel and her legacy. He asks the Lord for protection, asking Him to repeat the harsh judgments brought on pagan nations in the past. Asaph extends this by asking God to bring destruction, ruin, and humiliation on these opponents. Despite this, Asaph recognizes that the proper goal is for these nations to recognize that God alone is Most High. This is one of several "imprecatory" psalms such as Psalm 5, 10, 17, 109, and 137, which request God to deliver severe harm on some enemy.

This is the last psalm identified with Asaph. It is one of the imprecatory psalms which call for harsh judgment from God. Other such psalms include 5, 10, 35, 109, and 137. The psalm is not explicitly connected to a historical event. It may refer to the attack on Jerusalem during the reign of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20). Others see this as a general reference to the Gentile world's relentless attacks on Israel. Still others interpret this as a prophecy about a large-scale attack set to occur in the end times.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.