Bible Strands
Psalms 83:16
Cover their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist petitions God to intervene against a hostile coalition, framing the request between pleas for divine tempest (83:15) and a wish for the enemies' enduring disgrace (83:17).
The words — מַלֵּא (male') means fill, and קָלוֹן (qalon) means shame; the phrase literally commands covering their faces with shame.
The thread — The motif of shame as a divine response appears in Job 10:15, where the sufferer describes being full of shame amid affliction. The immediate context in Psalms 83:15 and 83:17 tracks the same sequence of divine action followed by enemy humiliation.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that shame functions as a corrective measure intended to drive the enemy to seek the Lord's name.
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
Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord.
Cross-references
- Psalms 6:10 All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.
- Psalms 9:19 Rise up, O LORD, do not let man prevail; let the nations be judged in Your presence.
- Job 10:15 If I am guilty, woe to me! And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift my head. I am full of shame and aware of my affliction.
- Psalms 34:5 Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces shall never be ashamed.
- Psalms 109:29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe.
- Psalms 132:18 I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown upon him will gleam.”