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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
Good News Translation
Psalm 81
Good News Translation
A Song for a Festival[a]
81 Shout for joy to God our defender;
sing praise to the God of Jacob!
2 Start the music and beat the tambourines;
play pleasant music on the harps and the lyres.
3 (A)Blow the trumpet for the festival,
when the moon is new and when the moon is full.
4 This is the law in Israel,
an order from the God of Jacob.
5 He gave it to the people of Israel
when he attacked the land of Egypt.
I hear an unknown voice saying,
6 “I took the burdens off your backs;
I let you put down your loads of bricks.
7 (B)When you were in trouble, you called to me, and I saved you.
From my hiding place in the storm, I answered you.
I put you to the test at the springs of Meribah.
8 Listen, my people, to my warning;
Israel, how I wish you would listen to me!
9 (C)You must never worship another god.
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
Open your mouth, and I will feed you.
11 “But my people would not listen to me;
Israel would not obey me.
12 So I let them go their stubborn ways
and do whatever they wanted.
13 How I wish my people would listen to me;
how I wish they would obey me!
14 I would quickly defeat their enemies
and conquer all their foes.
15 Those who hate me would bow in fear before me;
their punishment would last forever.
16 But I would feed you with the finest wheat
and satisfy you with wild honey.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 81:1 HEBREW TITLE: By Asaph.
Psalm 81
New Century Version
Psalm 81
New Century Version
A Song for a Holiday
For the director of music. By the gittith. A psalm of Asaph.
81 Sing for joy to God, our strength;
shout out loud to the God of Jacob.
2 Begin the music. Play the tambourines.
Play pleasant music on the harps and lyres.
3 Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon,
when the moon is full, when our feast begins.
4 This is the law for Israel;
it is the command of the God of Jacob.
5 He gave this rule to the people of Joseph
when they went out of the land of Egypt.
I heard a language I did not know, saying:
6 “I took the load off their shoulders;
I let them put down their baskets.
7 When you were in trouble, you called, and I saved you.
I answered you with thunder.
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 My people, listen. I am warning you.
Israel, please listen to me!
9 You must not have foreign gods;
you must not worship any false god.
10 I, the Lord, am your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
Open your mouth and I will feed you.
11 “But my people did not listen to me;
Israel did not want me.
12 So I let them go their stubborn way
and follow their own advice.
13 I wish my people would listen to me;
I wish Israel would live my way.
14 Then I would quickly defeat their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would bow before him.
Their punishment would continue forever.
16 But I would give you the finest wheat
and fill you with honey from the rocks.”
Psalm 81
The Message
Psalm 81
The Message
81 1-5 A song to our strong God!
a shout to the God of Jacob!
Anthems from the choir, music from the band,
sweet sounds from lute and harp,
Trumpets and trombones and horns:
it’s festival day, a feast to God!
A day decreed by God,
solemnly ordered by the God of Jacob.
He commanded Joseph to keep this day
so we’d never forget what he did in Egypt.
I hear this most gentle whisper from One
I never guessed would speak to me:
6-7 “I took the world off your shoulders,
freed you from a life of hard labor.
You called to me in your pain;
I got you out of a bad place.
I answered you from where the thunder hides,
I proved you at Meribah Fountain.
8-10 “Listen, dear ones—get this straight;
O Israel, don’t take this lightly.
Don’t take up with strange gods,
don’t worship the popular gods.
I’m God, your God, the very God
who rescued you from doom in Egypt,
Then fed you all you could eat,
filled your hungry stomachs.
11-12 “But my people didn’t listen,
Israel paid no attention;
So I let go of the reins and told them, ‘Run!
Do it your own way!’
13-16 “Oh, dear people, will you listen to me now?
Israel, will you follow my map?
I’ll make short work of your enemies,
give your foes the back of my hand.
I’ll send the God-haters cringing like dogs,
never to be heard from again.
You’ll feast on my fresh-baked bread
spread with butter and rock-pure honey.”
Psalm 81
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 81
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 81
God’s Appeal to Stubborn Israel
To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph.
1 Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob.(A)
2 Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our festal day.(B)
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it a decree in Joseph,
when he went out over[a] the land of Egypt.
I hear a voice I had not known:(C)
6 “I relieved your[b] shoulder of the burden;
your[c] hands were freed from the basket.(D)
7 In distress you called, and I rescued you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah(E)
8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!(F)
9 There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.(G)
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.(H)
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.(I)
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.(J)
13 O that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!(K)
14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.(L)
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,
and their doom would last forever.
16 I would feed you[d] with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”(M)
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Century Version (NCV) 
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.