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12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires;[a]
they did what seemed right to them.[b]
13 If only my people would obey me![c]
If only Israel would keep my commands![d]
14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,
and attack[e] their adversaries.”

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 81:12 tn Heb “and I sent him away in the stubbornness of their heart.”
  2. Psalm 81:12 tn Heb “they walked in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite (“walked”) or a customary imperfect (“were walking”).
  3. Psalm 81:13 tn Heb “if only my people were listening to me.” The Hebrew particle לוּ (lu, “if not”) introduces a purely hypothetical or contrary to fact condition (see 2 Sam 18:12).
  4. Psalm 81:13 tn Heb “[and if only] Israel would walk in my ways.”
  5. Psalm 81:14 tn Heb “turn my hand against.” The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack” (see Isa 1:25; Ezek 38:12; Amos 1:8; Zech 13:7).