Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Psalms 83:8 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 8. 8Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 83:8: The line “Assur also is joined with them” reaches Selah inside “A communal plea amid a coalition of enemies: A named coalition conspires,” marking an ancient pause of uncertain performance.
Read It With
- Psalms 83:1–8
- Psalms 83:1–18
Read Psalms 83:8 with 83:1–8 and 83:1–18. Read alone, “Assur also is joined with them” could lose the communal voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 83:1–8, the communal voice carries the movement “A named coalition conspires” as part of “A communal plea amid a coalition of enemies.” Its communal-imprecation form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 83:1–8 opens Psalm 83 with “Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God” and establishes the communal voice and “A named coalition conspires” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Within that relationship, Psalm 83:8 carries “Assur also is joined with them” into the liturgical marker Selah, creating a pause whose exact performance remains uncertain.
What Remains True
The verse's role is specific—Psalm 83:8 carries “Assur also is joined with them” into the liturgical marker Selah, creating a pause whose exact performance remains uncertain. Within that role, Wrong and rage may be named honestly before the LORD, yet judgment remains accountable to justice and never turns another person into disposable prey. The local movement is “A named coalition conspires.” The unit's reviewed limit is: Ancient enemy names cannot be mapped onto modern ethnic or political targets, and judgment petitions are not battle instructions.
How It Can Shape Life
- Because Psalm 83:8 belongs to “A communal plea amid a coalition of enemies: A named coalition conspires,” its role must lead the practice: Psalm 83:8 carries “Assur also is joined with them” into the liturgical marker Selah, creating a pause whose exact performance remains uncertain. When “Assur also is joined with them” voices danger or judgment, verify the harm, protect those at risk, and submit retaliation to lawful and accountable processes.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Psalms 83:1–8 — A communal plea amid a coalition of enemies: A named coalition conspiresSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 83:1–8, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 83:1–8
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 83:1–8.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 83 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 83:1–8
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗