Bible Strands
Psalms 83:12
who said, “Let us possess for ourselves the pastures of God.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God, recounting the hostile plans of surrounding nations who seek to displace Israel from the land. This declaration occurs within a prayer for divine intervention against enemies who conspire to destroy Israel.
The words — The Hebrew verb נִרְשָׁה (ni.rashah) literally means to take possession or inheritance, while נְאֹת (ne'ot) denotes pastures or dwelling places. The text records the enemies' explicit declaration to seize what they recognize as belonging to God.
The thread — This claim to divine territory matches the threat in 2 Chronicles 20:11, where enemies boast of driving Israel from their inheritance, and parallels the sacrilegious ambition in Psalm 74:7 to defile God's dwelling. The psalmist links this to the broader conspiracy in Psalm 83:4 to erase Israel as a nation.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that human schemes to seize God's territory are recorded and subject to divine judgment. It calls the reader to trust that God's claims to land and people cannot be overridden by human ambition.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 20:11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession that You gave us as an inheritance.
- Psalms 74:7 They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name.
- Psalms 83:4 saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation; may the name of Israel be remembered no more.”