Cover their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, Yahweh.
- KJV Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.
- NKJV Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O Lord.
- NASB Fill their faces with dishonor, So that they will seek Your name, Lord.
- NLT Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The psalmist asks that the enemies be filled with shame so that they may seek the LORD's name. Even judgment is aimed at bringing them to seek God.
Overview
Strikingly, the prayer turns redemptive: that humbling the enemies might lead them to seek Yahweh. The defeat of their pride could become the occasion for their conversion. This reflects God's desire that even His enemies turn and live, anticipating the gospel's reach to all nations.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 9:19–20Rise up, O LORD, do not let man prevail; let the nations be judged in Your presence.
- Ps 6:10All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.
- Job 10:15If I am guilty, woe to me! And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift my head. I am full of shame and aware of my affliction.
- Ps 34:5Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces shall never be ashamed.
- Ps 109:29May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe.
- Ps 132:18I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown upon him will gleam.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 83:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.