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Psalm 83:14

As the fire that burns the forest, as the flame that sets the mountains on fire,

12who said, “Let’s take possession of God’s pasture lands.”
13My God, make them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind.
14As the fire that burns the forest, as the flame that sets the mountains on fire,
15so pursue them with your tempest, and terrify them with your storm.
16Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, LORD.
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← Psalm 83:13Psalm 83:15 →
Notice

A forest engulfed in flame makes this prayer for God to pursue his people's enemies hard to soften, especially when those enemies seek to seize his land.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What troubles you, if anything, about asking God to pursue enemies like a forest fire?

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How does the plea that enemies seek God's name shape your reading of the flames?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

9 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Deuteronomy 32:22For a fire is kindled in my anger, that burns to the lowest Sheol, devours the earth with its increase, and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire.Both passages picture fire reaching the mountains, expressing the destructive force of God's anger in Deuteronomy and the judgment sought in the psalm.
Malachi 4:1“For behold, the day comes, burning like a furnace, when all the proud and all who work wickedness will be stubble. The day that comes will burn them up,” says …Both use consuming fire to portray judgment, with a forest burning in the psalm and the proud becoming stubble in Malachi.
Isaiah 9:18For wickedness burns like a fire. It devours the briers and thorns; yes, it kindles in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.Both describe a forest burning, though Isaiah names wickedness as the fire and the psalm uses fire to picture God's pursuit.
Isaiah 33:11–12You will conceive chaff. You will give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will devour you.Both describe devouring fire, though Isaiah identifies the hearers' own breath as the flame that consumes them.
Nahum 1:10For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly like dry stubble.Both portray destruction through vegetation being consumed, with a forest in the psalm and dry stubble in Nahum.
Ezekiel 20:47–48Tell the forest of the south, ‘Hear the LORD’s word: The Lord GOD says, “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree in you, and …Both picture a forest consumed by fire in connection with divine judgment; Ezekiel names God as the one who kindles it.
Isaiah 64:1–2Oh that you would tear the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence—Both prayers picture mountains affected by divine intervention, though Isaiah asks God to descend and the psalm asks him to pursue enemies.
Nahum 1:6Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken apart by him.Both use destructive fire to express the force of divine judgment, with burning mountains in the psalm and shattered rocks in Nahum.
Isaiah 30:33For his burning place has long been ready. Yes, it is prepared for the king. He has made its pyre deep and large with fire and much wood. The LORD’s breath, …Both associate consuming fire with divine judgment, though Isaiah describes a prepared pyre for a king rather than a burning forest.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. sermon or Bible study notes.

What the Bible says about anger →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Pray Psalm 83:14–16, leaving judgment in God's hands

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Encouragement

These flames belong to a prayer addressed to God. The surrounding plea seeks the enemies' defeat and their turning toward his name; judgment rests with him.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 83:14. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 83 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).