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They conspire with cunning against your people. They plot against your cherished ones.
Psalms 83:3 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
  • BSB With cunning they scheme against Your people and conspire against those You cherish,
  • ESV They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against your treasured ones.
  • NKJV They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
  • NASB They make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against Your treasured ones.
  • NLT They devise crafty schemes against your people; they conspire against your precious ones.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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 enemies craftily conspire against God's people, whom He cherishes. The attack targets those God holds dear.

Overview

The plotting nations scheme against Israel, here called God's 'cherished ones' or treasured people. The phrase underscores the intimate covenant love God has for His own. To assault those God treasures is to invite His protective response, a comfort to all whom God counts as His beloved in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Ps 64:2Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil;
  • Ps 27:5For in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the covert of his tabernacle he will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock.
  • Ps 31:20In the shelter of your presence you will hide them from the plotting of man. You will keep them secretly in a dwelling away from the strife of tongues.
  • Isa 7:6–7“Let’s go up against Judah, and tear it apart, and let’s divide it among ourselves, and set up a king within it, even the son of Tabeel.”
  • Ps 91:1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
  • Ps 10:9He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush. He lies in wait to catch the helpless. He catches the helpless, when he draws him in his net.
  • Luke 20:20–23They watched him, and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.
  • Ps 56:6They conspire and lurk, watching my steps, they are eager to take my life.
  • Col 3:3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
  • 1 Sam 13:19Now there was no blacksmith found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears”;

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 83:3YouTube · 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 83:3 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.