Psalm 83:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground.

NIV: who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.

NASB: Who were destroyed at En-dor, Who became like dung for the ground.

CSB: They were destroyed at En-dor; they became manure for the ground.

NLT: They were destroyed at Endor, and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil.

KJV: Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.

NKJV: Who perished at En Dor, Who became as refuse on the earth.

In the prior verse (Psalm 83:9), Asaph began to as God for bring specific, brutal punishments against the enemies of Israel (Psalm 83:6–8). Among the examples mentioned were Midian (Numbers 31:7; Judges 7:24–25), Jabin (Judges 4:23–24) and Sisera (Judges 4:17, 21). Each of these enemies suffered catastrophic defeats at the hands of Israel. Asaph's desire is that the conspiring nations (Psalm 83:2–5) would experience a similarly harsh fate.

Here, the choice of imagery highlights Asaph's bitterness. He describes the corpses of enemies rotting in the field, using a Hebrew term which broadly refers to feces, carcasses, and other decaying waste.

En-dor is not explicitly mentioned in the account of Jabin and Sisera. However, the city was near Taanach (Judges 5:19; Joshua 17:11–12), which is one of the locations related to their defeat. En-dor is the same place where Saul, king of Israel, sought out an occultist just before his death (1 Samuel 28:7).

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.

Accessed 5/3/2024 7:19:44 AM