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Psalm 81
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 81
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 81[a]
An Admonition to Fidelity
1 For the leader; “upon the gittith.”[b] Of Asaph.
I
2 Sing joyfully to God our strength;(A)
raise loud shouts to the God of Jacob!
3 Take up a melody, sound the timbrel,
the pleasant lyre with a harp.
4 [c]Blow the shofar at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our solemn feast.(B)
5 For this is a law for Israel,
an edict of the God of Jacob,(C)
6 He made it a decree for Joseph
when he came out of the land of Egypt.
II
7 [d]I heard a tongue I did not know:
“I removed his shoulder from the burden;[e]
his hands moved away from the basket.(D)
8 In distress you called and I rescued you;
I answered you in secret with thunder;
At the waters of Meribah[f] I tested you:(E) 9 ‘Listen, my people, I will testify against you
Selah
If only you will listen to me, Israel!(F)
10 There shall be no foreign god among you;[g](G)
you shall not bow down to an alien god.
11 ‘I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth that I may fill it.’
12 But my people did not listen to my words;
Israel would not submit to me.
13 So I thrust them away to the hardness of their heart;
‘Let them walk in their own machinations.’(H)
14 O that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways,(I)
15 In a moment I would humble their foes,
and turn back my hand against their oppressors.(J)
16 Those who hate the Lord will try flattering him,
but their fate is fixed forever.
17 But Israel I will feed with the finest wheat,
I will satisfy them with honey from the rock.”(K)
Footnotes
- Psalm 81 At a pilgrimage feast, probably harvest in the fall, the people assemble in the Temple in accord with the Sinai ordinances (Ps 81:2–6). They hear a divine word (mediated by a Temple speaker) telling how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt (Ps 81:7–9), gave them the fundamental commandment of fidelity (Ps 81:9–11), which would bring punishment if they refused to obey (Ps 81:12–13). But if Israel repents, God will be with them once again, bestowing protection and fertility (Ps 81:14–16).
- 81:1 Upon the gittith: probably the title of the melody to which the Psalm was to be sung or a musical instrument.
- 81:4 New moon…full moon: the pilgrimage feast of harvest began with a great assembly (Lv 23:24; Nm 29:1), used the new moon as a sign (Nm 29:6), and included trumpets (Lv 23:24).
- 81:7 I heard a tongue I did not know: a Temple official speaks the word of God (Ps 81:5b–16), which is authoritative and unlike merely human words (cf. Nm 24:4, 16).
- 81:7 I removed his shoulder from the burden: A reference to the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The basket: for carrying clay to make bricks, cf. Ex 1:14.
- 81:8 Meribah: place of rebellion in the wilderness; cf. Ex 17:7; Nm 20:13.
- 81:10 There shall be no foreign god among you: as in Ps 50 and 95, Israel is challenged to obey the first commandment of fidelity to God after the proclamation of the exodus.
Psalm 81
New International Version
Psalm 81
New International Version
Psalm 81[a]
For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] Of Asaph.
1 Sing for joy to God our strength;
shout aloud to the God of Jacob!(A)
2 Begin the music, strike the timbrel,(B)
play the melodious harp(C) and lyre.(D)
3 Sound the ram’s horn(E) at the New Moon,(F)
and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival;
4 this is a decree for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.(G)
5 When God went out against Egypt,(H)
he established it as a statute for Joseph.
I heard an unknown voice say:(I)
6 “I removed the burden(J) from their shoulders;(K)
their hands were set free from the basket.
7 In your distress you called(L) and I rescued you,
I answered(M) you out of a thundercloud;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.[c](N)
8 Hear me, my people,(O) and I will warn you—
if you would only listen to me, Israel!
9 You shall have no foreign god(P) among you;
you shall not worship any god other than me.
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of Egypt.(Q)
Open(R) wide your mouth and I will fill(S) it.
11 “But my people would not listen to me;
Israel would not submit to me.(T)
12 So I gave them over(U) to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own devices.
13 “If my people would only listen to me,(V)
if Israel would only follow my ways,
14 how quickly I would subdue(W) their enemies
and turn my hand against(X) their foes!
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe(Y) before him,
and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;(Z)
with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 81:1 In Hebrew texts 81:1-16 is numbered 81:2-17.
- Psalm 81:1 Title: Probably a musical term
- Psalm 81:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
Psalm 81
King James Version
Psalm 81
King James Version
81 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
4 For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
5 This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
8 Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
9 There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
10 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
14 I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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