Psalm 83:16
New International Version
Cover their faces with shame, LORD, so that they will seek your name.

New Living Translation
Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O LORD.

English Standard Version
Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O LORD.

Berean Standard Bible
Cover their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O LORD.

King James Bible
Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.

New King James Version
Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O LORD.

New American Standard Bible
Fill their faces with dishonor, So that they will seek Your name, LORD.

NASB 1995
Fill their faces with dishonor, That they may seek Your name, O LORD.

NASB 1977
Fill their faces with dishonor, That they may seek Thy name, O LORD.

Legacy Standard Bible
Fill their faces with disgrace, That they may seek Your name, O Yahweh.

Amplified Bible
Fill their faces with shame and disgrace, That they may [persistently] seek Your name, O LORD.

Christian Standard Bible
Cover their faces with shame so that they will seek your name, LORD.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Cover their faces with shame so that they will seek Your name Yahweh.

American Standard Version
Fill their faces with confusion, That they may seek thy name, O Jehovah.

Contemporary English Version
Make them blush with shame, until they turn and worship you, our LORD.

English Revised Version
Fill their faces with confusion; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Let their faces blush with shame, O LORD, so that they must look to you for help.

Good News Translation
Cover their faces with shame, O LORD, and make them acknowledge your power.

International Standard Version
Fill their faces with shame until they seek your name, God.

Majority Standard Bible
Cover their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O LORD.

NET Bible
Cover their faces with shame, so they might seek you, O LORD.

New Heart English Bible
Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, LORD.

Webster's Bible Translation
Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.

World English Bible
Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, Yahweh.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Fill their faces [with] shame, "" And they seek Your Name, O YHWH.

Young's Literal Translation
Fill their faces with shame, And they seek Thy name, O Jehovah.

Smith's Literal Translation
Fill their face with contempt, and they shall seek thy name, O Jehovah.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Fill their faces with shame; and they shall seek thy name, O Lord.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Fill their faces with shame, and they will seek your name, O Lord.

New American Bible
Cover their faces with shame, till they seek your name, LORD.

New Revised Standard Version
Fill their faces with shame, so that they may seek your name, O LORD.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek thy name, O LORD.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your Name, LORD JEHOVAH!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Fill their faces with shame; That they may seek Thy name, O LORD.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Fill their faces with dishonour; so shall they seek thy name, O Lord.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Do Not Be Still, O God
15so pursue them with Your tempest, and terrify them with Your storm. 16Cover their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O LORD. 17May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace.…

Cross References
2 Chronicles 20:12
Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

Isaiah 45:24
Surely they will say of Me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’” All who rage against Him will come to Him and be put to shame.

Jeremiah 17:13
O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living water.

Ezekiel 36:23
I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes.

Malachi 1:11
For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts.

1 Samuel 17:46
This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

1 Kings 8:43
then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.

Isaiah 37:20
And now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”

Ezekiel 38:23
I will magnify and sanctify Myself, and I will reveal Myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

Zechariah 14:9
On that day the LORD will become King over all the earth—the LORD alone, and His name alone.

John 17:3
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

Philippians 2:10-11
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, / and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Romans 14:11
It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.”

Revelation 15:4
Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Acts 4:12
Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”


Treasury of Scripture

Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek your name, O LORD.

Psalm 6:10
Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.

Psalm 9:19,20
Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight…

Psalm 34:5
They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

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Psalm 83
1. A complaint to God of the enemies conspiracies
9. A prayer against those who oppress the Church














Cover their faces with shame
The phrase "cover their faces with shame" is a vivid expression of humiliation and disgrace. In the Hebrew context, the word for "shame" (בּוּשׁ, "bush") often implies a deep sense of embarrassment or dishonor. This request for shame is not merely punitive but serves a redemptive purpose. In ancient Near Eastern culture, the face was a symbol of identity and honor. To have one's face covered in shame suggests a complete loss of dignity and status. The psalmist's plea is for the enemies of God to experience a humbling realization of their wrongdoing, leading them to a point of repentance.

that they may seek Your name
The ultimate goal of the psalmist's prayer is not destruction but transformation. The phrase "that they may seek Your name" indicates a desire for the adversaries to turn towards God. In Hebrew, the word "seek" (בָּקַשׁ, "baqash") implies an earnest and diligent search. The "name" of God represents His character, authority, and presence. By seeking God's name, the psalmist envisions a scenario where the enemies come to recognize and revere the sovereignty and holiness of the LORD. This reflects a profound theological truth: God's judgments are often designed to lead people to repentance and restoration.

O LORD
The invocation "O LORD" uses the covenant name of God, Yahweh (יהוה), which is deeply significant in the Hebrew Scriptures. This name is associated with God's eternal, self-existent nature and His faithful relationship with His people. By addressing God as "LORD," the psalmist acknowledges His supreme authority and covenantal faithfulness. It is a reminder that the God of Israel is not only a God of justice but also of mercy and redemption. The psalmist's appeal to Yahweh underscores a trust in God's righteous character and His ultimate desire for all nations to come to know Him.

(16) Thy name, O Lord.--Rather, thy name (which is) Jehovah. The nations were to seek Him not only as God, but as Jehovah God of Israel. This is proved by Psalm 83:18. No doubt the thought uppermost in the verse is the submission of the heathen to Jehovah's power. But we may, looking back, read in it a nobler wish and a grander hope--the prophetic hope of a union of nations in a belief in the common fatherhood of God.

Verse 16. - Fill their faces with shame; i.e. cause their enterprise to fail, and so bring them to shame and confusion of face. That they may seek thy Name, O Lord. A merciful purpose lies behind the greater number of Divine visitations. They are intended to scourge men into submission, and cause them to turn to God. The psalmist, being in full sympathy with God, desires that his merciful intentions may have effect.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Cover
מַלֵּ֣א (mal·lê)
Verb - Piel - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 4390: To fill, be full of

their faces
פְנֵיהֶ֣ם (p̄ə·nê·hem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 6440: The face

with shame,
קָל֑וֹן (qā·lō·wn)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7036: Disgrace, the pudenda

that they may seek
וִֽיבַקְשׁ֖וּ (wî·ḇaq·šū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1245: To search out, to strive after

Your name,
שִׁמְךָ֣ (šim·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 8034: A name

O LORD.
יְהוָֽה׃ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel


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OT Poetry: Psalm 83:16 Fill their faces with confusion that they (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 83:15
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