Psalms 35:4(v17)Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.
Deuteronomy 32:22(v14)For a fire is kindled in my anger, that burns to the lowest Sheol, devours the earth with its increase, and sets the foundations of the…
Job 9:17(v15)For he breaks me with a storm, and multiplies my wounds without cause.
Job 21:18(v13)How often is it that they are as stubble before the wind, as chaff that the storm carries away?
Psalms 35:5(v13)Let them be as chaff before the wind, Yahweh’s angel driving them on.
Show all 41 cross-references
Psalms 50:3(v15)Our God comes, and does not keep silent. A fire devours before him. It is very stormy around him.
Isaiah 40:24(v13)They are planted scarcely. They are sown scarcely. Their stock has scarcely taken root in the ground. He merely blows on them, and they…
Malachi 4:1(v14)“For, behold, the day comes, it burns as a furnace; and all the proud, and all who work wickedness, will be stubble; and the day that comes…
Job 13:25(v13)Will you harass a driven leaf? Will you pursue the dry stubble?
Psalms 58:9(v15)Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.
Psalms 74:11-12(v13)Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it from your chest and consume them! Yet God is my King of old, working…
Isaiah 9:18(v14)For wickedness burns like a fire. It devours the briers and thorns; yes, it kindles in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in…
Isaiah 28:17(v15)I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line. The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will…
Jeremiah 13:24(v13)“Therefore I will scatter them, as the stubble that passes away, by the wind of the wilderness.
Psalms 109:29(vv16–17)Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
Exodus 15:7(v13)In the greatness of your excellency, you overthrow those who rise up against you. You send out your wrath. It consumes them as stubble.
Job 27:20-23(v15)Terrors overtake him like waters. A storm steals him away in the night. The east wind carries him away, and he departs. It sweeps him out…
Psalms 6:10(v16)May all my enemies be ashamed and dismayed. They shall turn back, they shall be disgraced suddenly.
Psalms 9:19-20(v16)Arise, Yahweh! Don’t let man prevail. Let the nations be judged in your sight. Put them in fear, Yahweh. Let the nations know that they are…
Psalms 11:6(v15)On the wicked he will rain blazing coals; fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
Psalms 22:1(v13)My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
Psalms 35:26(v17)Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify…
Psalms 40:14-15(v17)Let them be disappointed and confounded together who seek after my soul to destroy it. Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor…
Psalms 44:4(v13)You are my King, God. Command victories for Jacob!
Psalms 68:1-2(v13)Let God arise! Let his enemies be scattered! Let them who hate him also flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. As…
Isaiah 17:12-14(v13)Ah, the uproar of many peoples, who roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rushing of nations, that rush like the rushing of mighty…
Isaiah 30:33(v14)For his burning place has long been ready. Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made its pyre deep and large with fire and much wood.…
Isaiah 33:11-12(v14)You will conceive chaff. You will give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will devour you. The peoples will be like the burning…
Isaiah 41:2(v13)Who has raised up one from the east? Who called him to his foot in righteousness? He hands over nations to him and makes him rule over…
Isaiah 64:1-2(v14)Oh that you would tear the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence. As when fire kindles the…
Ezekiel 20:47-48(v14)Tell the forest of the South, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word: The Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it will devour every…
Nahum 1:6(v14)Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are…
Nahum 1:10(v14)For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly like dry stubble.
Matthew 3:12(v13)His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the…
Matthew 7:27(v15)The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
Hebrews 12:18(v15)For you have not come to a mountain that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and to blackness, darkness, storm,
Job 10:15(v16)If I am wicked, woe to me. If I am righteous, I still will not lift up my head, being filled with disgrace, and conscious of my affliction.
Psalms 34:5(v16)They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
Psalms 132:18(v16)I will clothe his enemies with shame, but on himself, his crown will shine.”
Isaiah 30:30(v15)Yahweh will cause his glorious voice to be heard, and will show the descent of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and the flame of…
Ezekiel 13:11-14(v15)Tell those who plaster it with whitewash that it will fall. There will be an overflowing shower; and you, great hailstones, will fall. A…
41 distinct cross-references across this passage (42 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn v1313. O my God! make them like a whirling…
13. O my God! make them like a whirling ball. As the ungodly, when they gird and prepare themselves for destroying the Church, are usually inflated with intolerable pride, the inspired bard beseeches God to put them to shame, it being impossible to abate their pride until they are laid prostrate, confounded, and shamefully disappointed. When he declares (verse 16) that, as the result of this, they will seek the name of God, he is not to be understood as speaking of their being brought to true repentance, or of their genuine conversion. I indeed admit that the first step to genuine repentance is when men, brought low by affliction, willingly humble themselves. But what is here meant is nothing more than a forced and slavish submission like that of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. It is a case of frequent occurrence for the wicked, when subdued by adversity, to give glory to God, for a short period. But they are soon again carried away with a frantic madness, which clearly discovers their hypocrisy, and brings to light the pride and rebellion which lurked in their hearts. What the prophet desires is, that the wicked may be compelled by stripes to acknowledge God, whether they will or no, in order that their fury, which breaks forth because they escape with impunity, may at least be kept under restraint. This is more clearly apparent from the 17th verse, where he distinctly prays that they may be destroyed for ever; which would not at all correspond with his previous statement, were it regarded as a prayer for their being brought to repentance. Nor does he needlessly heap together such a multiplicity of words. He does this partly because the reprobate, though often chastised, are nevertheless so incorrigible that ever and anon they are mustering up new strength and courage; and partly because there is nothing which it is more difficult to be persuaded of than that such as wallow at ease in great outward prosperity will soon perish. The cause to which this is to be attributed is just our not sufficiently apprehending the dreadful character of the vengeance of God which awaits the oppressors of the Church.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv13, 16Because the reprobate could by no means be amended,…
Because the reprobate could by no means be amended, he prayeth that they may utterly be destroyed, be unstable, and led with all winds.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv13–17Psa 83:13 O my God, make them like a…
Psa 83:13 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
Ver. 13. O my God, make them like a wheel] Heb. Like a rolling thing, such as is thistle down, saith R. Solomon, Capita carduorum. Gr. like a top, Torque illos in modum trochi, whirl them about as boys do their tops.
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As the stubble] As before he had brought examples, so here similitudes, to show what he would have done to the enemy.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv13, 14, 16, 17Whereas they promise to themselves a sure and firm…
Whereas they promise to themselves a sure and firm possession in our land, let them be like
a wheel, or a round ball, which being once tumbled down from the top of a hill, runs down with great force and swiftness, and stays not till it comes to the bottom, and there also is very unstable, and soon removed.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv13–17O my God, make them like a wheel,.... Which,…
O my God, make them like a wheel,.... Which, as the Targum adds, is rolled, and goes on, and rests not in a declivity; let them be as fickle and inconstant as a wheel; being in high, let them be in slippery places, and brought down to desolation in a moment; like a wheel set running down hill, so let them swiftly and suddenly come to ruin; or be in all kind of calamities, and continual troubles (k) as the wheel is always turning: some think there is an allusion to the wheel by which bread corn was bruised; see Isa 28:28, but the word (l) signifies a rolling thing before the wind, as a wisp of straw or stubble, which is easily carried away with it: Jarchi interprets it of the tops or down of thistles, which fly off from them, and roll up, and are scattered by the wind; see Isa 17:13, and which agrees with what follows:
as the stubble before the wind; which cannot stand before it, but is driven about by it here and there; and so wicked men are, as chaff and stubble, driven away in their wickedness, with the stormy wind of divine wrath and vengeance, and chased out of the world, which is here imprecated.
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(k) "Vide Suidam in voce" (l) "rem in levem quae turbine circumagitur", some in Amama; "pappos", i.e. "lanuginem carduorum", so some in Grotius; "as a rolling thing", Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv13, 14, 16A wheel - Whereas they promise to themselves a…
A wheel - Whereas they promise to themselves a sure possession, let them be like a wheel, which is very unstable, and soon removed.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv13–17Verse 13. O my God, make them like a…
Verse 13. O my God, make them like a wheel] Alluding to the manner of threshing corn in the east. A large broad wheel was rolled over the grain on a threshing-floor, which was generally in the open air; and the grain being thrown up by a shovel against the wind the chaff was thus separated from it, in the place where it was threshed.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv13, 16Psa 83:13-14. O my God, make them like a…
Psa 83:13-14. O my God, make them like a wheel — Whereas they promise themselves a sure possession, let them be like a wheel, or a round ball, which is very unstable, and soon removed, and which, when once tumbled down from the top of a hill, runs with great force and swiftness, and stays not till it comes to the bottom. Bishop Patrick interprets the clause thus: “Let them not be able to stand their ground, but put them to flight, and make them run as swiftly as a ball down a hill.” As the stubble before the wind — “Disperse all their forces like the chaff when it is blown about with a furious wind.” Some think that in this and the following verse the psalmist alludes to the manner of thrashing in Judea; which was generally performed on a mountain, where the corn was thrashed by means of a wheel which run over the stalks. The chaff, on account of this situation, was easily blown about by the wind; and, it being customary likewise to burn what remained, it is with great propriety that the psalmist concludes the description with these words, As the flame setteth the mountains on fire, Psa 83:14. Where Dr. Waterland, instead of a wood, reads a forest. And it must be observed, that the woods or forests upon the mountains, in those hot countries, when they have once taken fire, either by lightning, or by the design of men, or by any accident, are wont to burn with great swiftness and irresistible violence.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv13–17O my God, make them like a wheel ...…
O my God, make them like a wheel ... - Or rather, like a rolling thing - something that the wind rolls along. The word גלגל galgal - means properly a wheel, as of a chariot, Eze 10:2, Eze 10:6; or a wheel for drawing water from a well, Ecc 12:6; then, a whirlwind, Psa 77:19; and then, anything driven before a whirlwind, as chaff, or stubble, Isa 17:13. Compare the notes at Isa 22:18. The prayer here is, that they might be utterly destroyed, or driven away.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv13–1713. Like a wheel—Like a rolling thing, parallel to…
13. Like a wheel—Like a rolling thing, parallel to Isa_17:13. The whirlwind seems alluded to. “A whirlwind is the most curious of all the visitations [of the Sinai desert] to which one is exposed. It is as violent as the most awful storm, tearing up every thing in its path, but it is so partial that you may stand a yard or so off and watch its progress undisturbed.”— Palmer. See note on Psa_58:9
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv13, 14, 16, 1713. make them like a wheel] Rather, like whirling…
13. make them like a wheel] Rather, like whirling dust or chaff. Anything whirled away before the wind may be meant. Thomson (Land and Book, p. 563) thinks that the globular heads of the wild artichoke may be meant. They are light as a feather, and in the autumn when they break off from the parent stem “thousands of them come scudding over the plain, rolling, leaping, bounding with vast racket, to the dismay both of the horse and rider.” The Arabs, who call it ’akkûb, “derive one of their many forms of cursing from this plant: ‘May you be whirled like the’ akkûb before the wind.’ ”
as the stubble] As stubble. Dry, light, broken straw, whirled away from the threshing floor, which was usually in an exposed situation to catch the wind, is meant. Cp. Isa_17:13; Isa_29:5; Jer_13:24; Psa_1:4.
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13–18. Renewed prayer for the dispersion and destruction of the enemy expressed by figures from nature. The final end and object of all is that they may acknowledge Jehovah to be supreme.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv13, 14, 16(13) A wheel.—Heb., galgal. (See Note, Psa_77:18, and comp.…
(13) A wheel.—Heb., galgal. (See Note, Psa_77:18, and comp. Isa_17:13, where the Authorised Ver sion has literally rolling thing, the margin “thistle down,” and the LXX., “dust of a wheel.”) Sir G. Grove (Smith’s Bibl. Dict., art. Oreb) says, “like the spherical masses of dry weeds which course over the plains of Esdraelon and Philistia.” He possibly refers to the wild artichoke, which struck Mr. Thomson so forcibly as the origin of the psalmist’s figure. He describes them as vegetable globes, light as a feather, which, when the parent stem breaks, become the sport of the wind. “At the proper season thousands of them come suddenly over the plain, rolling, leaping, bounding with vast racket, to the dismay both of the horse and rider.” To this day the Arabs, who call it ‘akhûb, employ it in the same figurative way:—
“May you be whirled like ‘akhûb before the wind!”
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THOMSON: Land and Book, 563.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv13–17O my God, make them like a wheel; rather,…
O my God, make them like a wheel; rather, like whirling dust the dust that is caught up by an eddy of wind, and twisted round and round. (see Isa_17:13) As the stubble before the wind. Both the "whirling dust" and the "stubble" are images of what is lightest, most shifting, and of least account. (see Job_13:25 Job_15:7 Job_21:18 Job_41:29 Isa_40:24 Isa_41:2 Jer_13:24 Mal_4:1)
The figure of the "rolling thing.
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"O my God, make them as a rolling thing." A striking poetical figure, effective if applied to any light substance that is rolled over, whirled round, and driven forward with a high wind. Dickens has a very elaborate picture of wind-driven leaves in the opening part of "Martin Chuzzlewit." The figure may be that of the whirlwind, which catches up the sand and hurls it helplessly along; and this would be a good figure for the fight of a panic-stricken army. But Thomson, in his "Land and the Book," gives point to the poet"s figure by his description of a very curious plant, known as the "gulgal," or "rolling thing." "It is a wild artichoke. In growing it throws out numerous branches of equal size and length in all directions, forming a sort of sphere or globe a foot or more in diameter. When ripe and dry in autumn, these branches become rigid and light as a feather, the parent stem breaks off at the ground, and the wind carries these vegetable globes whithersoever it pleaseth. At the proper season, thousands of them come scudding over the plain, rolling, leaping, bounding, with vast racket, to the dismay both of the horse and his rider. An Arab proverb addresses this rolling thing thus: "Ho, "akkub, where do you put up tonight?" To which it answers as it flies, "Where the wind puts up." They also derive one of their many forms of cursing from this plant. "May you be whirled, like the "akkub, before the wind, until you are caught in the thorns, or plunged into the sea!" If this is not the "wheel" of David, I have seen nothing in the country to suggest the comparison." This "rolling thing" is wholly helpless in the strong hand of the wind. And the poet feels that even as helpless his enemies would be, if the hand of God were upon them. The idea of their helplessness interests him, because he is so full of fear concerning their numbers and apparent strength. A good illustration may be found in the case of the Syrians who came to take Elisha, and were helpless in his hands, and actually led by him into the capital city of their foes.
I MAN CAN NEVER ACT AGAINST GOD"S PEOPLE, SAVE ON DIVINE PERMISSION.
II MAN MAY RAVE IN HELPLESSNESS, IF THAT PERMISSION IS WITHHELD.
III MAN WILL HAVE MISERABLY TO FEEL HIS HELPLESSNESS, IF HE ATTEMPTS TO ACT WITHOUT PERMISSION. That which affrights God"s people before God arises to help them becomes pitiable in its helplessness when God has arisen. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon1885 · Public DomainOn vv13–17Ver. 13. O my God, make them like a…
Ver. 13. O my God, make them like a wheel; like a rolling thing which cannot rest, but is made to move with every breath. Let them have no quiet. May their minds eternally revolve and never come to peace. Blow them away like thistle down,
as the stubble before the wind. Scatter them, chase them, drive them to destruction. Every patriot prays thus against the enemies of his country, he would be no better than a traitor if he did not.
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Ver. 13. A wheel. What sort of vegetable is this whose stems our muleteers are cutting up and chewing with so much relish? It is a wild artichoke. We can amuse ourselves with it and its behaviour for a while, and may possibly extract something more valuable than the insipid juice of which our men are so fond. You observe than in growing it throws out numerous branches of equal size and length in all directions, forming a sort of sphere or globe a foot or more in diameter. When ripe and dry in autumn, these branches become rigid and light as a feather, the parent stem breaks off at the ground, and the wind carries these vegetable globes whithersoever it pleaseth. At the proper season thousands of them come scudding over the plain rolling, leaping, bounding with vast racket, to the dismay both of the horse and his rider. Once, on the plain north of Hamath, my horse became quite unmanageable among them. They charged down upon us on the wings of the wind, which broke them from their moorings, and sent them careening over the desert in countless numbers. Our excellent native itinerant, A-F-, had a similar encounter with them on the eastern desert beyond the Hauran, and his horse was so terrified that he was obliged to alight and lead him. I have long suspected that this wild artichoke is the gulgal, which, in Ps 83:13, is rendered wheel, and in Isa 17:13, a rolling thing. Evidently our translators knew not what to call it. The first passage reads thus: O my God, make them like a wheel
second, Rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be
chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a
rolling thinggulgal before the whirlwind. Now, from the
nature of the parallelism, the gulgal cannot be a wheel, but
something corresponding to chaff. It must also be something that does
not fly like the chaff, but in a striking manner rolls before the
wind. The signification of gulgal in Hebrew and its equivalent in
other Shemitic dialects, requires this, and this rolling artichoke
meets the case most emphatically, and especially when it rolls before
the whirlwind. In the encounter referred to north of Hamath, my eyes
were half blinded with the stubble and chaff which filled the air; but
it was the extraordinary behaviour of this rolling thing that
riveted my attention. Hundreds of these globes, all bounding like
gazelles in one direction over the desert, would suddenly wheel short
round at the bidding of a counter blast, and dash away with equal
speed on their new course. An Arab proverb addresses this "rolling
thing" thus: "Ho! akkub, where do you put up tonight?" to which it
answers as it flies, "Where the wind puts up." They also derive one
of their many forms of cursing from this plant: "May you be whirled,
like the akkub, before the wind, until you are caught in the thorns,
or plunged into the sea." If this is not the wheel of David,
and the rolling thing of Isaiah, from which they also borrowed
their imprecations upon the wicked, I have seen nothing in the country
to suggest the comparison.
W. M. Thomson, in "The Land and the Book."
Ver. 13. Make them like a wheel. That is, cause them to fall
into such great calamities that they can find no counsel or remedy for
their misfortunes, and that they may run hither and thither like a
wheel or a ball, and yet see not where they ought to stop, ot whither
they ought to escape. Such are the minds of wicked men in calamities,
wherever they turn they find no harbour wherein to rest, no certain
consolation can they discover. They are tossed with perpetual
disquietude; by running hither and thither and seeking various
remedies they but weary themselves the more and plunge themselves the
more deeply in their woes. This must necessarily happen to those who
seek to cure evil with evil. Therefore Isaiah also says, the wicked
are like the troubled sea.
Mollerus.
Ver. 13. Like a wheel. Mortals, like cylinders, are rolled
hither and thither, oppressed with innumerable ills.
Aurea Carmina. Pythagoras
Ver. 13. There is no greater evidence against error, than that it
is not constant to itself, no greater argument against these pretended
great spirits, than that they cannot sit, know not where to fix, are
always moving, as if the psalmist's curse had taken hold of them, as
if God had made them like a wheel and as stubble before the
wind, that can sit nowhere, rest at nothing, but turn about from
one uncertainty to another. The Holy Spirit is a spirit that will sit
still, and be at peace, continue and abide.
Mark Frank.
Ver. 13-14. In imagery both obvious and vivid to every native of
the gusty hills and plains of Palestine, though to us comparatively
unintelligible, the psalmist describes them as driven over the uplands
of Gilead like the clouds of chaff blown from the threshing floors;
chased away like the spherical masses of dry weeds which course over
the plains of Esdraelon and Philistiaflying with the dreadful
hurry and confusion of the flames, that rush and leap from tree and
hill to hill when the wooded mountains of a tropical country are by
chance ignited.
William Smith, in "A Dictionary of the Bible." 1863.
Ver. 13-15. The instability, restlessness and impotence of the
wicked; their horror when God deals with them in justice.
Psalms 83:14*
Ver. 13-14. See Psalms on "Ps 83:13" for further information.
Ver. 13-15. The instability, restlessness and impotence of the wicked; their horror when God deals with them in justice.
Psalms 83:15*
Ver. 13-15. The instability, restlessness and impotence of the wicked; their horror when God deals with them in justice.
Psalms 83:16*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v16Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek…
Psa_83:16
Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek Thy name, O Lord.
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Shame leading to salvation
I. Ungodly men have good cause to be ashamed--
1. Because of the wrong they are doing to their Maker. You pride yourself upon your uprightness and integrity; but must God alone, then, be made to Suffer through your injustice? Out of all beings, must He alone who made all other beings be the only one to be neglected?
2. There are many ungodly men who ought to be ashamed because they are acting in opposition to light and knowledge, contrary to their conscience, and against their better judgments.
3. Because of their postponements of what they know to be right.
4. Because of their violation of vows which they have made.
5. Because of their not loving the Lord Jesus Christ, and not trusting such a Saviour as He is.
6. A man ought to be ashamed who will not even think of these things.
II. Now, concerning these ungodly people, let me show you that shame is a very desirable thing if it drives them to God. Hence the prayer, Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek thy name, O Lord.
1. Sometimes shame attends the breaking up of self-righteousness.
2. I have known this shame to operate in some when they have done wrong, and have lost the repute they enjoyed among their fellow-creatures.
3. So have I seen failure driving a man to the strong for strength.
4. I have also known men brought to Christ with shame of another sort, shame of mental error leading to a humble faith.
III. The Lord is willing now to receive those who are ashamed of themselves.
1. You are the sort of man to come to Christ, because, first, you have the greatest need of Him. In the time of famine, we give the meal away first to the most hungry family.
2. If you are ashamed of yourself, you are the man to come to Christ, because you will make no bargains with Him. You will say, Save me, Lord, at any price, and in any way!
3. And you are the man who will give Him all the glory if you are saved. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv13, 16General Information:
General Information:
The writer uses similes to describe God's total destruction of Israel's enemies. (See: Simile)
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make them like the whirling dust, like chaff before the wind
Both statements speak of God destroying his enemies as if he were a strong wind easily blowing them away. (See: Simile and Parallelism)
like the fire that burns the forest, and like the flame that sets the mountains on fire
Both statements speak of God's punishment as if it were a fire, and the enemies of God are things that burn in the fire. (See: Simile and Parallelism)
Chase them with your strong wind, and terrify them with your windstorm
Both statements ask God to destroy the enemies with storms. (See: Simile and Parallelism)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On v13 13. O my God! make them like a whirling…
13. O my God! make them like a whirling ball. As the ungodly, when they gird and prepare themselves for destroying the Church, are usually inflated with intolerable pride, the inspired bard beseeches God to put them to shame, it being impossible to abate their pride until they are laid prostrate, confounded, and shamefully disappointed. When he declares (verse 16) that, as the result of this, they will seek the name of God, he is not to be understood as speaking of their being brought to true repentance, or of their genuine conversion. I indeed admit that the first step to genuine repentance is when men, brought low by affliction, willingly humble themselves. But what is here meant is nothing more than a forced and slavish submission like that of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. It is a case of frequent occurrence for the wicked, when subdued by adversity, to give glory to God, for a short period. But they are soon again carried away with a frantic madness, which clearly discovers their hypocrisy, and brings to light the pride and rebellion which lurked in their hearts. What the prophet desires is, that the wicked may be compelled by stripes to acknowledge God, whether they will or no, in order that their fury, which breaks forth because they escape with impunity, may at least be kept under restraint. This is more clearly apparent from the 17th verse, where he distinctly prays that they may be destroyed for ever; which would not at all correspond with his previous statement, were it regarded as a prayer for their being brought to repentance. Nor does he needlessly heap together such a multiplicity of words. He does this partly because the reprobate, though often chastised, are nevertheless so incorrigible that ever and anon they are mustering up new strength and courage; and partly because there is nothing which it is more difficult to be persuaded of than that such as wallow at ease in great outward prosperity will soon perish. The cause to which this is to be attributed is just our not sufficiently apprehending the dreadful character of the vengeance of God which awaits the oppressors of the Church.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv13, 16 Because the reprobate could by no means be amended,…
Because the reprobate could by no means be amended, he prayeth that they may utterly be destroyed, be unstable, and led with all winds.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv13–17 Psa 83:13 O my God, make them like a…
Psa 83:13 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
Ver. 13. O my God, make them like a wheel] Heb. Like a rolling thing, such as is thistle down, saith R. Solomon, Capita carduorum. Gr. like a top, Torque illos in modum trochi, whirl them about as boys do their tops.
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As the stubble] As before he had brought examples, so here similitudes, to show what he would have done to the enemy.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 16, 17 Whereas they promise to themselves a sure and firm…
Whereas they promise to themselves a sure and firm possession in our land, let them be like
a wheel, or a round ball, which being once tumbled down from the top of a hill, runs down with great force and swiftness, and stays not till it comes to the bottom, and there also is very unstable, and soon removed.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv13–17 O my God, make them like a wheel,.... Which,…
O my God, make them like a wheel,.... Which, as the Targum adds, is rolled, and goes on, and rests not in a declivity; let them be as fickle and inconstant as a wheel; being in high, let them be in slippery places, and brought down to desolation in a moment; like a wheel set running down hill, so let them swiftly and suddenly come to ruin; or be in all kind of calamities, and continual troubles (k) as the wheel is always turning: some think there is an allusion to the wheel by which bread corn was bruised; see Isa 28:28, but the word (l) signifies a rolling thing before the wind, as a wisp of straw or stubble, which is easily carried away with it: Jarchi interprets it of the tops or down of thistles, which fly off from them, and roll up, and are scattered by the wind; see Isa 17:13, and which agrees with what follows:
as the stubble before the wind; which cannot stand before it, but is driven about by it here and there; and so wicked men are, as chaff and stubble, driven away in their wickedness, with the stormy wind of divine wrath and vengeance, and chased out of the world, which is here imprecated.
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(k) "Vide Suidam in voce" (l) "rem in levem quae turbine circumagitur", some in Amama; "pappos", i.e. "lanuginem carduorum", so some in Grotius; "as a rolling thing", Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 16 A wheel - Whereas they promise to themselves a…
A wheel - Whereas they promise to themselves a sure possession, let them be like a wheel, which is very unstable, and soon removed.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv13–17 Verse 13. O my God, make them like a…
Verse 13. O my God, make them like a wheel] Alluding to the manner of threshing corn in the east. A large broad wheel was rolled over the grain on a threshing-floor, which was generally in the open air; and the grain being thrown up by a shovel against the wind the chaff was thus separated from it, in the place where it was threshed.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv13, 16 Psa 83:13-14. O my God, make them like a…
Psa 83:13-14. O my God, make them like a wheel — Whereas they promise themselves a sure possession, let them be like a wheel, or a round ball, which is very unstable, and soon removed, and which, when once tumbled down from the top of a hill, runs with great force and swiftness, and stays not till it comes to the bottom. Bishop Patrick interprets the clause thus: “Let them not be able to stand their ground, but put them to flight, and make them run as swiftly as a ball down a hill.” As the stubble before the wind — “Disperse all their forces like the chaff when it is blown about with a furious wind.” Some think that in this and the following verse the psalmist alludes to the manner of thrashing in Judea; which was generally performed on a mountain, where the corn was thrashed by means of a wheel which run over the stalks. The chaff, on account of this situation, was easily blown about by the wind; and, it being customary likewise to burn what remained, it is with great propriety that the psalmist concludes the description with these words, As the flame setteth the mountains on fire, Psa 83:14. Where Dr. Waterland, instead of a wood, reads a forest. And it must be observed, that the woods or forests upon the mountains, in those hot countries, when they have once taken fire, either by lightning, or by the design of men, or by any accident, are wont to burn with great swiftness and irresistible violence.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv13–17 O my God, make them like a wheel ...…
O my God, make them like a wheel ... - Or rather, like a rolling thing - something that the wind rolls along. The word גלגל galgal - means properly a wheel, as of a chariot, Eze 10:2, Eze 10:6; or a wheel for drawing water from a well, Ecc 12:6; then, a whirlwind, Psa 77:19; and then, anything driven before a whirlwind, as chaff, or stubble, Isa 17:13. Compare the notes at Isa 22:18. The prayer here is, that they might be utterly destroyed, or driven away.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv13–17 13. Like a wheel—Like a rolling thing, parallel to…
13. Like a wheel—Like a rolling thing, parallel to Isa_17:13. The whirlwind seems alluded to. “A whirlwind is the most curious of all the visitations [of the Sinai desert] to which one is exposed. It is as violent as the most awful storm, tearing up every thing in its path, but it is so partial that you may stand a yard or so off and watch its progress undisturbed.”— Palmer. See note on Psa_58:9
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 16, 17 13. make them like a wheel] Rather, like whirling…
13. make them like a wheel] Rather, like whirling dust or chaff. Anything whirled away before the wind may be meant. Thomson (Land and Book, p. 563) thinks that the globular heads of the wild artichoke may be meant. They are light as a feather, and in the autumn when they break off from the parent stem “thousands of them come scudding over the plain, rolling, leaping, bounding with vast racket, to the dismay both of the horse and rider.” The Arabs, who call it ’akkûb, “derive one of their many forms of cursing from this plant: ‘May you be whirled like the’ akkûb before the wind.’ ”
as the stubble] As stubble. Dry, light, broken straw, whirled away from the threshing floor, which was usually in an exposed situation to catch the wind, is meant. Cp. Isa_17:13; Isa_29:5; Jer_13:24; Psa_1:4.
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13–18. Renewed prayer for the dispersion and destruction of the enemy expressed by figures from nature. The final end and object of all is that they may acknowledge Jehovah to be supreme.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 16 (13) A wheel.—Heb., galgal. (See Note, Psa_77:18, and comp.…
(13) A wheel.—Heb., galgal. (See Note, Psa_77:18, and comp. Isa_17:13, where the Authorised Ver sion has literally rolling thing, the margin “thistle down,” and the LXX., “dust of a wheel.”) Sir G. Grove (Smith’s Bibl. Dict., art. Oreb) says, “like the spherical masses of dry weeds which course over the plains of Esdraelon and Philistia.” He possibly refers to the wild artichoke, which struck Mr. Thomson so forcibly as the origin of the psalmist’s figure. He describes them as vegetable globes, light as a feather, which, when the parent stem breaks, become the sport of the wind. “At the proper season thousands of them come suddenly over the plain, rolling, leaping, bounding with vast racket, to the dismay both of the horse and rider.” To this day the Arabs, who call it ‘akhûb, employ it in the same figurative way:—
“May you be whirled like ‘akhûb before the wind!”
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THOMSON: Land and Book, 563.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv13–17 O my God, make them like a wheel; rather,…
O my God, make them like a wheel; rather, like whirling dust the dust that is caught up by an eddy of wind, and twisted round and round. (see Isa_17:13) As the stubble before the wind. Both the "whirling dust" and the "stubble" are images of what is lightest, most shifting, and of least account. (see Job_13:25 Job_15:7 Job_21:18 Job_41:29 Isa_40:24 Isa_41:2 Jer_13:24 Mal_4:1)
The figure of the "rolling thing.
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"O my God, make them as a rolling thing." A striking poetical figure, effective if applied to any light substance that is rolled over, whirled round, and driven forward with a high wind. Dickens has a very elaborate picture of wind-driven leaves in the opening part of "Martin Chuzzlewit." The figure may be that of the whirlwind, which catches up the sand and hurls it helplessly along; and this would be a good figure for the fight of a panic-stricken army. But Thomson, in his "Land and the Book," gives point to the poet"s figure by his description of a very curious plant, known as the "gulgal," or "rolling thing." "It is a wild artichoke. In growing it throws out numerous branches of equal size and length in all directions, forming a sort of sphere or globe a foot or more in diameter. When ripe and dry in autumn, these branches become rigid and light as a feather, the parent stem breaks off at the ground, and the wind carries these vegetable globes whithersoever it pleaseth. At the proper season, thousands of them come scudding over the plain, rolling, leaping, bounding, with vast racket, to the dismay both of the horse and his rider. An Arab proverb addresses this rolling thing thus: "Ho, "akkub, where do you put up tonight?" To which it answers as it flies, "Where the wind puts up." They also derive one of their many forms of cursing from this plant. "May you be whirled, like the "akkub, before the wind, until you are caught in the thorns, or plunged into the sea!" If this is not the "wheel" of David, I have seen nothing in the country to suggest the comparison." This "rolling thing" is wholly helpless in the strong hand of the wind. And the poet feels that even as helpless his enemies would be, if the hand of God were upon them. The idea of their helplessness interests him, because he is so full of fear concerning their numbers and apparent strength. A good illustration may be found in the case of the Syrians who came to take Elisha, and were helpless in his hands, and actually led by him into the capital city of their foes.
I MAN CAN NEVER ACT AGAINST GOD"S PEOPLE, SAVE ON DIVINE PERMISSION.
II MAN MAY RAVE IN HELPLESSNESS, IF THAT PERMISSION IS WITHHELD.
III MAN WILL HAVE MISERABLY TO FEEL HIS HELPLESSNESS, IF HE ATTEMPTS TO ACT WITHOUT PERMISSION. That which affrights God"s people before God arises to help them becomes pitiable in its helplessness when God has arisen. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv13–17 Ver. 13. O my God, make them like a…
Ver. 13. O my God, make them like a wheel; like a rolling thing which cannot rest, but is made to move with every breath. Let them have no quiet. May their minds eternally revolve and never come to peace. Blow them away like thistle down,
as the stubble before the wind. Scatter them, chase them, drive them to destruction. Every patriot prays thus against the enemies of his country, he would be no better than a traitor if he did not.
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Ver. 13. A wheel. What sort of vegetable is this whose stems our muleteers are cutting up and chewing with so much relish? It is a wild artichoke. We can amuse ourselves with it and its behaviour for a while, and may possibly extract something more valuable than the insipid juice of which our men are so fond. You observe than in growing it throws out numerous branches of equal size and length in all directions, forming a sort of sphere or globe a foot or more in diameter. When ripe and dry in autumn, these branches become rigid and light as a feather, the parent stem breaks off at the ground, and the wind carries these vegetable globes whithersoever it pleaseth. At the proper season thousands of them come scudding over the plain rolling, leaping, bounding with vast racket, to the dismay both of the horse and his rider. Once, on the plain north of Hamath, my horse became quite unmanageable among them. They charged down upon us on the wings of the wind, which broke them from their moorings, and sent them careening over the desert in countless numbers. Our excellent native itinerant, A-F-, had a similar encounter with them on the eastern desert beyond the Hauran, and his horse was so terrified that he was obliged to alight and lead him. I have long suspected that this wild artichoke is the gulgal, which, in Ps 83:13, is rendered wheel, and in Isa 17:13, a rolling thing. Evidently our translators knew not what to call it. The first passage reads thus: O my God, make them like a wheel
second, Rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be
chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a
rolling thinggulgal before the whirlwind. Now, from the
nature of the parallelism, the gulgal cannot be a wheel, but
something corresponding to chaff. It must also be something that does
not fly like the chaff, but in a striking manner rolls before the
wind. The signification of gulgal in Hebrew and its equivalent in
other Shemitic dialects, requires this, and this rolling artichoke
meets the case most emphatically, and especially when it rolls before
the whirlwind. In the encounter referred to north of Hamath, my eyes
were half blinded with the stubble and chaff which filled the air; but
it was the extraordinary behaviour of this rolling thing that
riveted my attention. Hundreds of these globes, all bounding like
gazelles in one direction over the desert, would suddenly wheel short
round at the bidding of a counter blast, and dash away with equal
speed on their new course. An Arab proverb addresses this "rolling
thing" thus: "Ho! akkub, where do you put up tonight?" to which it
answers as it flies, "Where the wind puts up." They also derive one
of their many forms of cursing from this plant: "May you be whirled,
like the akkub, before the wind, until you are caught in the thorns,
or plunged into the sea." If this is not the wheel of David,
and the rolling thing of Isaiah, from which they also borrowed
their imprecations upon the wicked, I have seen nothing in the country
to suggest the comparison.
W. M. Thomson, in "The Land and the Book."
Ver. 13. Make them like a wheel. That is, cause them to fall
into such great calamities that they can find no counsel or remedy for
their misfortunes, and that they may run hither and thither like a
wheel or a ball, and yet see not where they ought to stop, ot whither
they ought to escape. Such are the minds of wicked men in calamities,
wherever they turn they find no harbour wherein to rest, no certain
consolation can they discover. They are tossed with perpetual
disquietude; by running hither and thither and seeking various
remedies they but weary themselves the more and plunge themselves the
more deeply in their woes. This must necessarily happen to those who
seek to cure evil with evil. Therefore Isaiah also says, the wicked
are like the troubled sea.
Mollerus.
Ver. 13. Like a wheel. Mortals, like cylinders, are rolled
hither and thither, oppressed with innumerable ills.
Aurea Carmina. Pythagoras
Ver. 13. There is no greater evidence against error, than that it
is not constant to itself, no greater argument against these pretended
great spirits, than that they cannot sit, know not where to fix, are
always moving, as if the psalmist's curse had taken hold of them, as
if God had made them like a wheel and as stubble before the
wind, that can sit nowhere, rest at nothing, but turn about from
one uncertainty to another. The Holy Spirit is a spirit that will sit
still, and be at peace, continue and abide.
Mark Frank.
Ver. 13-14. In imagery both obvious and vivid to every native of
the gusty hills and plains of Palestine, though to us comparatively
unintelligible, the psalmist describes them as driven over the uplands
of Gilead like the clouds of chaff blown from the threshing floors;
chased away like the spherical masses of dry weeds which course over
the plains of Esdraelon and Philistiaflying with the dreadful
hurry and confusion of the flames, that rush and leap from tree and
hill to hill when the wooded mountains of a tropical country are by
chance ignited.
William Smith, in "A Dictionary of the Bible." 1863.
Ver. 13-15. The instability, restlessness and impotence of the
wicked; their horror when God deals with them in justice.
Psalms 83:14*
Ver. 13-14. See Psalms on "Ps 83:13" for further information.
Ver. 13-15. The instability, restlessness and impotence of the wicked; their horror when God deals with them in justice.
Psalms 83:15*
Ver. 13-15. The instability, restlessness and impotence of the wicked; their horror when God deals with them in justice.
Psalms 83:16*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek…
Psa_83:16
Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek Thy name, O Lord.
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Shame leading to salvation
I. Ungodly men have good cause to be ashamed--
1. Because of the wrong they are doing to their Maker. You pride yourself upon your uprightness and integrity; but must God alone, then, be made to Suffer through your injustice? Out of all beings, must He alone who made all other beings be the only one to be neglected?
2. There are many ungodly men who ought to be ashamed because they are acting in opposition to light and knowledge, contrary to their conscience, and against their better judgments.
3. Because of their postponements of what they know to be right.
4. Because of their violation of vows which they have made.
5. Because of their not loving the Lord Jesus Christ, and not trusting such a Saviour as He is.
6. A man ought to be ashamed who will not even think of these things.
II. Now, concerning these ungodly people, let me show you that shame is a very desirable thing if it drives them to God. Hence the prayer, Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek thy name, O Lord.
1. Sometimes shame attends the breaking up of self-righteousness.
2. I have known this shame to operate in some when they have done wrong, and have lost the repute they enjoyed among their fellow-creatures.
3. So have I seen failure driving a man to the strong for strength.
4. I have also known men brought to Christ with shame of another sort, shame of mental error leading to a humble faith.
III. The Lord is willing now to receive those who are ashamed of themselves.
1. You are the sort of man to come to Christ, because, first, you have the greatest need of Him. In the time of famine, we give the meal away first to the most hungry family.
2. If you are ashamed of yourself, you are the man to come to Christ, because you will make no bargains with Him. You will say, Save me, Lord, at any price, and in any way!
3. And you are the man who will give Him all the glory if you are saved. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13, 16 General Information:
General Information:
The writer uses similes to describe God's total destruction of Israel's enemies. (See: Simile)
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make them like the whirling dust, like chaff before the wind
Both statements speak of God destroying his enemies as if he were a strong wind easily blowing them away. (See: Simile and Parallelism)
like the fire that burns the forest, and like the flame that sets the mountains on fire
Both statements speak of God's punishment as if it were a fire, and the enemies of God are things that burn in the fire. (See: Simile and Parallelism)
Chase them with your strong wind, and terrify them with your windstorm
Both statements ask God to destroy the enemies with storms. (See: Simile and Parallelism)
translationWords
chaff
fire
terror
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13–14 83:13 tumbleweed . . . chaff: This dry plant…
83:13 tumbleweed . . . chaff: This dry plant material easily blows away (see Isa 17:13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.