Psalms 83:1

King James Version

Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!

Geneva Bible (1587)
A song, or Psalme committed to Asaph. Keepe not thou silence, O God: bee not still, and cease not, O God.

Christian Standard Bible®
God, do not keep silent.Do not be deaf, God; do not be quiet.

Hebrew Names Version
<> God, don't keep silent. Don't keep silent, and don't be still, God.

Easy-to-Read Version

One of Asaph's songs of praise.

God, don't keep quiet! Don't close your ears! Please say something, God.

Amplified Bible
Do not keep silent, O God; Do not hold Your peace or be still, O God.

American Standard Version

A Song, a Psalm of Asaph.

O God, keep not thou silence: Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.

Contemporary English Version

(A song and a psalm by Asaph.)

Our God, don't just sit there, silently doing nothing!

Complete Jewish Bible
A song. A psalm of Asaf:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
A Song, a Psalm of Asaph.

King James Version (1611)
[A song or Psalme of Asaph.] Keepe not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
O God, who shall be compared to thee? be not silent, neither be still, O God.

English Revised Version
A Song, a Psalm of Asaph. O God, keep not thou silence: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.

Berean Standard Bible
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, do not keep silent; do not hold Your peace; do not be still, O God.

Lexham English Bible

A song. A psalm of Asaph.

O God, do not rest silently. Do not keep silent or be still, O God.

Literal Translation
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God do not keep silence to Yourself; do not be speechless; yea, do not be still, O God.

New Century Version

A song. A psalm of Asaph.

God, do not keep quiet; God, do not be silent or still.

New English Translation

A song, a psalm of Asaph.

O God, do not be silent! Do not ignore us! Do not be inactive, O God!

New King James Version
Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God!

New Living Translation

A song. A psalm of Asaph.

O God, do not be silent! Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, O God.

New Life Bible
O God, do not keep quiet. Do not be quiet, O God, and do not hold Your peace.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
O God, Do not keep quiet, Do not hold thy peace, Neither be thou still, O GOD!

Douay-Rheims Bible
(82-1) <A canticle of a psalm for Asaph.> (82-2) O God, who shall be like to thee? hold not thy peace, neither be thou still, O God.

George Lamsa Translation
O GOD, who is like unto thee? Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God;

Good News Translation
O God, do not keep silent; do not be still, do not be quiet!

New American Standard Bible
God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, God, do not be still.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Holde not thy tongue O Lorde: kepe not styll scilence, refraine not thy selfe O Lorde.

New Revised Standard

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!

Darby Translation

A Song; a Psalm of Asaph.

O God, keep not silence; hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God:

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The title of the two and eiytetithe salm. The song of the salm of Asaph. God, who schal be lijk thee? God, be thou not stille, nether be thou peesid.

Young's Literal Translation
A Song, -- A Psalm of Asaph. O God, let there be no silence to Thee, Be not silent, nor be quiet, O God.

World English Bible
<> God, don't keep silent. Don't keep silent, and don't be still, God.

Revised Standard Version
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, do not keep silence; do not hold thy peace or be still, O God!

Update Bible Version
A song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, don't keep your silence: Don't hold your peace, and don't be still, O God.

Webster's Bible Translation
A song, [or] Psalm of Asaph. Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.

Bible in Basic English
O God, do not keep quiet: let your lips be open and take no rest, O God.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Holde not thy tonge (o God) kepe not still sylece,, refrayne not yi self, o God.

THE MESSAGE
An Asaph Psalm God , don't shut me out; don't give me the silent treatment, O God. Your enemies are out there whooping it up, the God-haters are living it up; They're plotting to do your people in, conspiring to rob you of your precious ones. "Let's wipe this nation from the face of the earth," they say; "scratch Israel's name off the books." And now they're putting their heads together, making plans to get rid of you.

New American Standard Bible (1995)

A Song, a Psalm of Asaph.

O God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still.

Legacy Standard Bible
O God, do not remain at rest;Do not be silent and, O God, do not be quiet.

Contextual Overview

¹ Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. ² For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. ³ They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. ⁴ They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. ⁵ For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: ⁶ The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; ⁷ Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; ⁸ Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

of Asaph: or, for Asaph

Keep: Psalms 28:1, Psalms 35:22, Psalms 44:23, Psalms 50:3, Psalms 109:1, Psalms 109:2

be not: Isaiah 42:14

Reciprocal: Exodus 14:14 - hold Joshua 11:1 - he sent Judges 8:21 - slew 1 Chronicles 6:39 - Asaph 1 Chronicles 15:17 - Asaph 1 Chronicles 25:2 - Asaph Nehemiah 12:46 - and Asaph Psalms 44:7 - put them Isaiah 64:12 - General Jeremiah 50:11 - ye destroyers Daniel 6:7 - have consulted Habakkuk 1:13 - holdest

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Keep not thou silence, O God,.... Which he is thought and said to do, when he does not answer the prayers of his people, nor plead their cause, nor rebuke their enemies; when he does not speak a good word to them, or one for them, or one against those that hate and persecute them;

hold not thy peace; or "be not deaf" b to the cries and tears of his people, and to the reproaches, menaces, and blasphemies of wicked men:

and be not still, O God; or "quiet" c, at rest and ease, inactive and unconcerned, as if he cared not how things went; the reason follows.

b אל-תחרש "ne obsurdescas", Vatablus; "ne surdum agas", Junius Tremellius, Piscator "ne quasi surdus et mutus sis", Michaelis. c אל תשקט "ne quiescas", Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus "neque quietus sis", Michaelis.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Keep not thou silence, O God - See the notes at Psalms 28:1. The prayer here is that in the existing emergency God would not seem to be indifferent to the needs and dangers of his people, and to the purposes of their enemies, but that he would speak with a voice of command, and break up their designs.

Hold not thy peace - That is, Speak. Give commaud. Disperse them by thine own authority.

And be not still, O God - Awake; arouse; be not indifferent to the needs and dangers of thy people. All this is the language of petition; not of command. Its rapidity, its repetition, its tone, all denote that the danger was imminent, and that the necessity for the divine interposition was urgent.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

PSALM LXXXIII

The psalmist calls upon God for immediate help against a

multitude of confederate enemies who had risen up against

Judah, 1-5.

He mentions them by name, 6-8;

shows how they were to be punished, 9-17;

and that this was to be done for the glory of God, 18.

NOTES ON PSALM LXXXIII

The title, A Song or Psalm of Asaph, contains nothing particular. Among a multitude of conjectures relative to the time and occasion of this Psalm, that which refers it to the confederacy against Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, mentioned 2 Chronicles 20:1-30, is the most likely. The following reasons make it probable:

1. The children of Ammon, that is, the Ammonites and Moabites, were the principal movers in the war.

2. The Idumeans came to their assistance, 2 Chronicles 20:22; with certain Ammonites or Meonians, referred to here in Psalms 83:8, and in 2 Chronicles 20:1.

3. There were also in this confederacy many strangers of Syria, and from beyond the sea, most likely the Dead Sea, which seems to indicate the Assyrians, Hagaranes, and Ishmaelites, designed expressly here, Psalms 83:7-8.

4. In that transaction there was a prophet of the race of Asaph, named Jahaziel, who foretold to Jehoshaphat their total overthrow, 2 Chronicles 20:14, &c., and probably this Jahaziel is the same with Asaph, the author of this Psalm.

In the course of the notes we shall see other circumstances relative to the war of the Moabites and Ammonites against Jehoshaphat, which illustrates several particulars in this Psalm. See Calmet.

Verse Psalms 83:1. Keep not thou silence — A strong appeal to God just as the confederacy was discovered. Do not be inactive, do not be neuter. Thy honour and our existence are both at stake.