TRV
Translation
Complete Jewish Bible
Like fire burning up the forest, like a flame that sets the mountains ablaze,
American Standard Version
As the fire that burneth the forest, And as the flame that setteth the mountains on fire,
World English Bible Messianic
As the fire that burns the forest, as the flame that sets the mountains on fire,
Geneva Bible (1599)
As the fire burneth the forest, and as the flame setteth the mountaines on fire:
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In the KJVVerse 15,256 of 31,102
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Commentary on Psalms 83 verses 9–18
9 ¶ Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:
10 Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:
12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
13 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;
15 So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.
17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:
18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
The psalmist here, in the name of the church, prays for the destruction of those confederate forces, and, in God's name, foretels it; for this prayer that it might be so amounts to a prophecy that it shall be so, and this prophecy reaches to all the enemies of the gospel-church; whoever they be that oppose the kingdom of Christ, here they may read their doom. The prayer is, in short, that these enemies, who were confederate against Israel, might be defeated in all their attempts, and that they might prove their own ruin, and so God's Israel might be preserved and perpetuated. Now this is here illustrated,
I. By some precedents. Let that be their punishment which has been the fate of others who have formerly set themselves against God's Israel. The defeat and discomfiture of former combinations may be pleaded in prayer to God and improved for the encouragement of our own faith and hope, because God is the same still that ever he was, the same to his people and the same against his and their enemies; with him is no variableness. 1. He prays that their armies might be destroyed as the armies of former enemies had been (Psa 83:9, Psa 83:10): Do to them as to the Midianites; let them be routed by their own fears, for so the Midianites were, more than by Gideon's 300 men. Do to them as to the army under the command of Sisera (who was general under Jabin king of Canaan) which God discomfited (Jdg 4:15) at the brook Kishon, near to which was Endor. They became as dung on the earth; their dead bodies were thrown like dung laid in heaps, or spread, to fatten the ground; they were trodden to dirt by Barak's small but victorious army; and this was fitly made a precedent here, because Deborah made it so to aftertimes when it was fresh. Jdg 5:31, So let all thy enemies perish, O Lord! that is, So they shall perish. 2. He prays that their leaders might be destroyed as they had been formerly. The common people would not have been so mischievous if their princes had not set them on, and therefore they are particularly prayed against, Psa 83:11, Psa 83:12. Observe, (1.) What their malice was against the Israel of God. They said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession (Psa 83:12), the pleasant places of God (so the word is), by which we may understand the land of Canaan, which was a pleasant land and was Immanuel's land, or the temple, which was indeed God's pleasant place (Isa 64:11), or (as Dr. Hammond suggests) the pleasant pastures, which these Arabians, who traded in cattle, did in a particular manner seek after. The princes and nobles aimed to enrich themselves by this war; and their armies must be made as dung for the earth, to serve their covetousness and their ambition. (2.) What their lot should be. They shall be made like Oreb and Zeeb (two princes of the Midianites, who, when their forces were routed, were taken in their flight by the Ephraimites and slain, Jdg 7:25), and like Zeba and Zalmunna, whom Gideon himself slew, Jdg 8:21. "Let these enemies of ours be made as easy a prey to us as they were to the conquerors then." We may not prescribe to God, but we may pray to God that he will deal with the enemies of his church in our days as he did with those in the days of our fathers.
II. He illustrates it by some similitudes, and prays, 1. That God would make them like a wheel (Psa 83:13), that they might be in continual motion, unquiet, unsettled, and giddy in all their counsels and resolves, that they might roll down easily and speedily to their own ruin. Or, as some think, that they might be broken by the judgments of God, as the corn is broken, or beaten out, by the wheel which was then used in threshing. Thus, when a wise king scatters the wicked, he is said to bring the wheel over them, Pro 20:26. Those that trust in God have their hearts fixed; those that fight against him are unfixed, like a wheel. 2. That they might be chased as stubble, or chaff, before the fierce wind. "The wheel, though it continually turn round, is fixed on its own axis; but let them have no more fixation than the light stubble has, which the wind hurries away, and nobody desires to save it, but is willing it should go," Psa 1:4. Thus shall the wicked be driven away in his wickedness, and chased out of the world. 3. That they might be consumed, as wood by the fire, or as briers and thorns, as fern or furze, upon the mountains, by the flames, Psa 83:14. When the stubble is driven by the wind it will rest, at last, under some hedge, in some ditch or other; but he prays that they might not only be driven away as stubble, but burnt up as stubble. And this will be the end of wicked men (Heb 6:8) and particularly of all the enemies of God's church. The application of these comparisons we have (Psa 83:15): So persecute them with thy tempest, persecute them to their utter ruin, and make them afraid with thy storm. See how sinners are made miserable; the storm of God's wrath raises terrors in their own hearts, and so they are made completely miserable. God can deal with the proudest and most daring sinner that has bidden defiance to his justice, and can make him afraid as a grasshopper. It is the torment of devils that they tremble.
III. He illustrates it by the good consequences of their confusion, Psa 83:16-18. He prays here that God, having filled their hearts with terror, would thereby fill their faces with shame, that they might be ashamed of their enmity to the people of God (Isa 26:11), ashamed of their folly in acting both against Omnipotence itself and their own true interest. They did what they could to put God's people to shame, but the shame will at length return upon themselves. Now, 1. The beginning of this shame might be a means of their conversion: "Let them be broken and baffled in their attempts, that they may seek thy name, O Lord! Let them be put to a stand, that they may have both leisure and reason to pause a little, and consider who it is that they are fighting against and what an unequal match they are for him, and may therefore humble and submit themselves and desire conditions of peace. Let them be made to fear thy name, and perhaps that will bring them to seek thy name." Note, That which we should earnestly desire and beg of God for our enemies and persecutors is that God would bring them to repentance, and we should desire their abasement in order to this, no other confusion to them than what may be a step towards their conversion. 2. If it did not prove a means of their conversion, the perfecting of it would redound greatly to the honour of God. If they will not be ashamed and repent, let them be put to shame and perish; if they will not be troubled and turned, which would soon put an end to all their trouble, a happy end, let them be troubled for ever, and never have peace: this will be for God's glory (Psa 83:18), that other men may know and own, if they themselves will not, that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH (that incommunicable, though not ineffable name) art the Most High over all the earth. God's triumphs over his and his church's enemies will be incontestable proofs, (1.) That he is, according to his name JEHOVAH, a self-existent self-sufficient Being, that has all power and perfection in himself. (2.) That he is the most high God, sovereign Lord of all, above all gods, above all kings, above all that exalt themselves and pretend to be high. (3.) That he is so, not only over the land of Israel, but over all the earth, even those nations of the earth that do not know him or own him; for his kingdom rules over all. These are great and unquestionable truths, but men will hardly be persuaded to know and believe them; therefore the psalmist prays that the destruction of some might be the conviction of others. The final ruin of all God's enemies, in the great day, will be the effectual proof of this, before angels and men, when the everlasting shame and contempt to which sinners shall rise (Dan 12:2) shall redound to the everlasting honour and praise of that God to whom vengeance belongs.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 9–18. Public domain.
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Augustine of HippoAD 430
Exposition on Psalm 83
This levity, by which consent is easily given to what is evil, is followed by severe torment; therefore he proceeds:—
"Like as the fire that burns up the wood, and as the flame that consumes the mountains" [Psalm 83:14]: "so shall You persecute them with Your tempest, and in Your anger shall disturb them" [Psalm 83:15]. Wood, he says, for its barrenness, mountains for their loftiness; for such are the enemies of God's people, barren of righteousness, full of pride. When he says, "fire" and "flame," he means to repeat under another term, the idea of God judging and punishing. But in saying, "with Your tempest," he means, as he goes on to explain, "Your anger:" and the former expression, "You shall persecute," answers to, "You shall disturb." We must take care, however, to understand, that the anger of God is free from any turbulent emotion; for His anger is an expression for His just method of taking vengeance: as the law might be said to be angry when its ministers are moved to punish by its sanction.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 83:14 employs remarkably vivid and powerful imagery to articulate the psalmist's fervent prayer for divine judgment against Israel's conspiring enemies. It likens the overwhelming and total destruction of God's adversaries to an uncontainable wildfire, relentlessly consuming vast forests and even setting mountains ablaze, thereby emphasizing the intensity, totality, and irresistible nature of God's anticipated intervention to vindicate His name and protect His people.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The primary literary device in Psalms 83:14 is Simile, as it explicitly compares the desired divine judgment to the destructive power of a wildfire consuming a forest and setting mountains ablaze. This creates a vivid and terrifying image for the reader, immediately conveying the scale and intensity of the invoked wrath. The verse also employs Parallelism, specifically an intensifying or synonymous parallelism, where the second clause ("and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire") echoes and amplifies the first ("As the fire burneth a wood"). This intensifies the sense of complete and widespread destruction, moving from the consumable "wood" to the seemingly impregnable "mountains," thereby escalating the imagery of devastation. Imagery is central, with strong sensory details of fire, burning, and consuming, painting a powerful mental picture of overwhelming and inescapable devastation. Furthermore, the description of mountains being set on fire could be considered Hyperbole, an exaggeration used to emphasize the absolute and uncontainable nature of the divine judgment, conveying that no obstacle, however grand or stable, can withstand the Almighty's power.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
The depiction of God's judgment as fire is a consistent and powerful theme throughout Scripture, signifying His holy wrath against sin, rebellion, and all that opposes His righteous will. This imagery is not merely about destruction but also about purification and the ultimate vindication of God's justice and sovereignty. It serves as a stark warning to those who defy the Creator and a profound comfort to His people, assuring them that He will ultimately act on their behalf, bringing all injustice to account. The psalmist's plea reflects a deep theological understanding of God as both merciful and a righteous judge, who will not allow evil to triumph indefinitely, ultimately ensuring that His name is glorified and His covenant purposes are fulfilled.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalms 83:14, though part of an imprecatory psalm, offers profound insights for believers today. It serves as a powerful reminder of God's ultimate justice and His unwavering commitment to His people. In a world often marked by injustice, oppression, and threats to faith, this verse assures us that no evil or opposition to God's kingdom will ultimately stand. It calls us to place our trust in God's supreme sovereignty, knowing that He is the righteous Judge who will, in His perfect timing, bring all things to account and establish His perfect rule. While our New Testament calling is to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, this psalm reminds us that God's justice is real and that He alone holds the power to right all wrongs, prompting us to live in humility and reverence before His awesome power and to commit all vengeance to Him. It encourages us to pray for God's kingdom to come and His will to be done, knowing that His justice will ultimately prevail.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why does the psalmist ask God to act with such destructive force?
Answer: The psalmist's fervent plea for divine judgment is rooted in a deep concern for God's honor and the very survival of His covenant people. The confederacy of nations described in Psalm 83:4 explicitly conspires to "cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more." This is not merely a request for personal vengeance, but a desperate cry for God to defend His own name and demonstrate His unique sovereignty to the nations, as explicitly stated in Psalm 83:18. The destructive force requested reflects the existential nature of the threat and the psalmist's conviction that only God's overwhelming power can deliver and vindicate His glory.
Is this verse compatible with the New Testament emphasis on love and forgiveness?
Answer: While the New Testament profoundly emphasizes love for enemies and forgiveness, it does not negate God's justice or the reality of future judgment. Romans 12:19 reminds believers not to take vengeance into their own hands but to "leave room for God's wrath," declaring, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." This psalm, therefore, reflects a reliance on God's ultimate justice rather than human retaliation. The New Testament also speaks of a future day of judgment where God's wrath will be poured out (e.g., Revelation 19:15), demonstrating that divine judgment, though often delayed, is a consistent biblical theme. The key distinction lies in the agent of judgment: believers are called to extend love and forgiveness, while God reserves the right and power to execute righteous judgment.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The vivid imagery of fire consuming "wood" and "mountains" in Psalms 83:14 finds its ultimate theological fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. While the psalmist prays for a consuming fire of judgment upon God's enemies, it is Christ, as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who bore the consuming fire of God's wrath on the cross. For those who believe, His sacrifice extinguishes the flames of judgment, offering salvation and reconciliation (Romans 5:9). He became the propitiation for our sins, absorbing the divine judgment we deserved (1 John 2:2). However, for those who reject Him, Christ will return as the righteous judge, and the imagery of consuming fire will be terrifyingly fulfilled in the final judgment, where He will be revealed "in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8). Thus, the ultimate vindication of God's name and the triumph over all His enemies, foreshadowed in this psalm, is achieved through Christ's redemptive work and will be fully realized at His glorious second coming, when "every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11).