Limitless Word
Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
Psalms 83:17 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Let them be disappointed and dismayed forever. Yes, let them be confounded and perish;
  • KJV Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:
  • BSB May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace.
  • NASB May they be ashamed and dismayed forever, And may they be humiliated and perish,
  • NLT Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Let them die in disgrace.

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

Yet the psalmist also prays that the persistently defiant be dismayed and perish. Those who refuse to turn must face God's judgment.

Overview

Alongside the hope of v. 16, this verse asks that those who remain hardened be brought to ruin. The two outcomes, repentance or perishing, reflect the alternatives every opponent of God faces. The prayer leaves the enemies' fate to God's righteous judgment, which is always just.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Ps 35:4Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.
  • Ps 35:26Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.
  • Ps 109:29Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
  • Ps 40:14–15Let them be disappointed and confounded together who seek after my soul to destroy it. Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 83:17YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 83:17 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.