Limitless Word
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.
Psalms 83:4 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB “Come,” they say, “let’s destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
  • BSB saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation; may the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
  • NKJV They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
  • NASB They have said, “Come, and let’s wipe them out as a nation, So that the name of Israel will no longer be remembered.”
  • NLT “Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.”

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 plot to destroy Israel as a nation so its name is forgotten forever. Their goal is the complete annihilation of God's people.

Overview

The conspirators aim not merely to defeat but to erase Israel from history. Behind this lies an attack on God's covenant promises, for to blot out Israel would seem to nullify God's word. Such genocidal intent ultimately fails because God has bound His name and purposes to the preservation of His people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Jer 48:2There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.
  • Jer 11:19But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
  • Ps 74:8They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
  • Esth 3:6–9And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
  • Dan 7:25And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
  • Acts 9:1–2And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
  • Exod 1:10Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
  • Jer 31:36If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
  • Matt 27:62–66Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
  • Prov 1:12Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
  • Acts 4:17But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.

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 83:4YouTube · 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 83:4 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.