Limitless Word
The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
Psalms 83:6 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab, and the Hagrites;
  • BSB the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites,
  • NKJV The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites;
  • NASB The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites;
  • NLT these Edomites and Ishmaelites; Moabites and Hagrites;

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 psalm names the hostile peoples, beginning with Edom, the Ishmaelites, Moab, and the Hagrites. The threat is concrete, from real surrounding nations.

Overview

The catalog of enemies (vv. 6-8) lists peoples encircling Israel, many of them long-standing foes and even distant kin (Edom, Moab, the Ishmaelites). Naming them makes the danger vivid and specific. It reminds God's people that He knows every adversary by name and that no coalition escapes His notice.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • 1 Chr 5:10And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the east land of Gilead.
  • 2 Chr 20:1It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
  • Ps 137:7Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
  • 2 Chr 20:10–11And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;
  • 1 Chr 5:19–20And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.
  • Gen 25:12–18Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 83:6YouTube · 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 83:6 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.