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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).

12 So I gave them over(A) to their stubborn hearts
    to follow their own devices.

13 “If my people would only listen to me,(B)
    if Israel would only follow my ways,
14 how quickly I would subdue(C) their enemies
    and turn my hand against(D) their foes!

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