Bible Strands
Psalms 83:13
Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, pleading for divine action against a coalition of nations that have conspired to possess Israel’s pastures.
The words — The Hebrew כַּגַּלְגַּל (kha-galgal) literally translates to "like whirling dust" or "tumbleweed," while כְּקַשׁ (ke-kash) means "like chaff."
The thread — The psalmist links this plea to the biblical pattern of agricultural waste being scattered by wind, as seen in Job 21:18, Psalms 35:5, and Isaiah 40:24.
Why it lands — The text states that human schemes to seize divine territory are as unstable as dry stalks, which requires the reader to abandon reliance on human power and submit to God’s decisive judgment.
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
O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
Cross-references
- Job 21:18 Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?
- Psalms 35:5 May they be like chaff in the wind, as the angel of the LORD drives them away.
- Isaiah 40:24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.
- Job 13:25 Would You frighten a windblown leaf? Would You chase after dry chaff?
- Psalms 74:11 Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand? Stretch it out to destroy them!
- Jeremiah 13:24 “I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert wind.
- Exodus 15:7 You overthrew Your adversaries by Your great majesty. You unleashed Your burning wrath; it consumed them like stubble.
- Psalms 22:1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
- Psalms 44:4 You are my King, O God, who ordains victories for Jacob.
- Psalms 68:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A song. God arises. His enemies are scattered, and those who hate Him flee His presence.