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16 I am now sending for many fishermen, says the Lord, and they shall catch them, and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill and out of the clefts of the rocks.(A) 17 For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from my presence, nor is their iniquity concealed from my sight.(B) 18 And[a] I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.(C)

19 O Lord, my strength and my stronghold,
    my refuge in the day of trouble,
to you shall the nations come
    from the ends of the earth and say:
“Our ancestors have inherited nothing but lies,
    worthless things in which there is no profit.(D)
20 Can mortals make for themselves gods?
    Such are no gods!”(E)

21 “Therefore I am surely going to teach them, this time I am going to teach them my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the Lord.”(F)

Judah’s Sin and Punishment

17 The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen; with a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars,(G) while their children remember their altars and their sacred poles[b] beside every green tree and on the high hills, on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your sin[c] throughout all your territory. By your own act you shall lose the heritage that I gave you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.(H)

Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
    and make mere flesh their strength,
    whose hearts turn away from the Lord.(I)
They shall be like a shrub in the desert
    and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salt land.(J)

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.(K)
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
    sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
    and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
    and it does not cease to bear fruit.(L)

The heart is devious above all else;
    it is perverse—
    who can understand it?(M)
10 I the Lord test the mind
    and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
    according to the fruit of their doings.(N)

11 Like the partridge hatching what it did not lay,
    so are all who amass wealth unjustly;
in midlife it will leave them,
    and at their end they will prove to be fools.

12 O glorious throne, exalted from the beginning,
    shrine of our sanctuary!
13 O hope of Israel! O Lord!
    All who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you[d] shall be recorded in the underworld,[e]
    for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, the Lord.(O)

Jeremiah Prays for Vindication

14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
    save me, and I shall be saved,
    for you are my praise.(P)
15 See how they say to me,
    “Where is the word of the Lord?
    Let it come!”(Q)
16 But I have not run away from being a shepherd[f] in your service,
    nor have I desired the fatal day.
You know what came from my lips;
    it was before your face.
17 Do not become a terror to me;
    you are my refuge in the day of disaster;(R)
18 Let my persecutors be shamed,
    but do not let me be shamed;
let them be dismayed,
    but do not let me be dismayed;
bring on them the day of disaster;
    destroy them with double destruction!(S)

Hallow the Sabbath Day

19 Thus said the Lord to me: Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say to them: Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter by these gates.(T) 21 Thus says the Lord: For the sake of your lives, take care that you do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem.(U) 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.(V) 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear; they stiffened their necks and would not hear or receive instruction.(W)

24 But if you listen to me, says the Lord, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it,(X) 25 then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings[g] who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city shall be inhabited forever.(Y) 26 And people shall come from the towns of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord.(Z) 27 But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy and to carry in no burden through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates; it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.(AA)

The Potter and the Clay

18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.”(AB) So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.(AC) At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it.(AD) And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it,(AE) 10 but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it.(AF) 11 Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you, from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.(AG)

Israel’s Stubborn Idolatry

12 But they say, “It is no use! We will follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of our evil will.”(AH)

13 Therefore thus says the Lord:
Ask among the nations:
    Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel has done
    a most horrible thing.(AI)
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave
    the crags of Sirion?[h]
Do the mountain[i] waters run dry,[j]
    the cold flowing streams?
15 But my people have forgotten me;
    they burn offerings to a delusion;
they have stumbled[k] in their ways,
    in the ancient roads,
and have gone into bypaths,
    not the highway,(AJ)
16 making their land a horror,
    a thing to be hissed at forever.
All who pass by it are horrified
    and shake their heads.(AK)
17 Like the wind from the east,
    I will scatter them before the enemy.
I will show them my back, not my face,
    in the day of their calamity.(AL)

A Plot against Jeremiah

18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for instruction shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us bring charges against him,[l] and let us not heed any of his words.”(AM)

19 Give heed to me, O Lord,
    and listen to what my adversaries say!
20 Is evil a recompense for good?
    Yet they have dug a pit for my life.
Remember how I stood before you
    to speak good for them,
    to turn away your wrath from them.(AN)
21 Therefore give their children over to famine;
    hurl them out to the power of the sword;
let their wives become childless and widowed.
    May their men meet death by pestilence,
    their youths be slain by the sword in battle.(AO)
22 May a cry be heard from their houses
    when you bring the marauder suddenly upon them!
For they have dug a pit to catch me
    and laid snares for my feet.(AP)
23 Yet you, O Lord, know
    all their plotting to kill me.
Do not forgive their iniquity;
    do not blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be tripped up before you;
    deal with them while you are angry.(AQ)

Footnotes

  1. 16.18 Gk: Heb And first
  2. 17.2 Or Asherahs
  3. 17.3 Cn: Heb spoil, your high places for sin
  4. 17.13 Heb me
  5. 17.13 Or in the earth
  6. 17.16 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  7. 17.25 Cn: Heb kings and officials
  8. 18.14 Cn: Heb of the field
  9. 18.14 Cn: Heb foreign
  10. 18.14 Cn: Heb Are . . . plucked up?
  11. 18.15 Gk Syr Vg: Heb they made them stumble
  12. 18.18 Heb strike him with the tongue

16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.(A) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt(B) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.(C) 17 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden(D) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.(E) 18 I will repay(F) them double(G) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land(H) with the lifeless forms of their vile images(I) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.(J)(K)

19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
    my refuge(L) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come(M)
    from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,(N)
    worthless idols(O) that did them no good.(P)
20 Do people make their own gods?
    Yes, but they are not gods!”(Q)

21 “Therefore I will teach them—
    this time I will teach them
    my power and might.
Then they will know
    that my name(R) is the Lord.

17 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,(S)
    inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts(T)
    and on the horns(U) of their altars.
Even their children remember
    their altars and Asherah poles[a](V)
beside the spreading trees
    and on the high hills.(W)
My mountain in the land
    and your[b] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,(X)
    together with your high places,(Y)
    because of sin throughout your country.(Z)
Through your own fault you will lose
    the inheritance(AA) I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies(AB)
    in a land(AC) you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
    and it will burn(AD) forever.”

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(AE)
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(AF)
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
    they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places(AG) of the desert,
    in a salt(AH) land where no one lives.

“But blessed(AI) is the one who trusts(AJ) in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.(AK)
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought(AL)
    and never fails to bear fruit.”(AM)

The heart(AN) is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart(AO)
    and examine the mind,(AP)
to reward(AQ) each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve.”(AR)

11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
    are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
    and in the end they will prove to be fools.(AS)

12 A glorious throne,(AT) exalted from the beginning,
    is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope(AU) of Israel;
    all who forsake(AV) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust(AW)
    because they have forsaken the Lord,
    the spring of living water.(AX)

14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;(AY)
    save(AZ) me and I will be saved,
    for you are the one I praise.(BA)
15 They keep saying to me,
    “Where is the word of the Lord?
    Let it now be fulfilled!”(BB)
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;
    you know I have not desired the day of despair.
    What passes my lips(BC) is open before you.
17 Do not be a terror(BD) to me;
    you are my refuge(BE) in the day of disaster.(BF)
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
    but keep me from shame;
let them be terrified,
    but keep me from terror.
Bring on them the day of disaster;
    destroy them with double destruction.(BG)

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,[c] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.(BH) 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem(BI) who come through these gates.(BJ) 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath(BK) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.(BL) 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention;(BM) they were stiff-necked(BN) and would not listen or respond to discipline.(BO) 24 But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy(BP) by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne(BQ) will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.(BR) 26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev,(BS) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not obey(BT) me to keep the Sabbath(BU) day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire(BV) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”(BW)

At the Potter’s House

18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay(BX) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,(BY) Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,(BZ) torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent(CA) and not inflict on it the disaster(CB) I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built(CC) up and planted, 10 and if it does evil(CD) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider(CE) the good I had intended to do for it.(CF)

11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster(CG) for you and devising a plan(CH) against you. So turn(CI) from your evil ways,(CJ) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’(CK) 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.(CL) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.(CM)’”

13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“Inquire among the nations:
    Who has ever heard anything like this?(CN)
A most horrible(CO) thing has been done
    by Virgin(CP) Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
    ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters from distant sources
    ever stop flowing?[d]
15 Yet my people have forgotten(CQ) me;
    they burn incense(CR) to worthless idols,(CS)
which made them stumble(CT) in their ways,
    in the ancient paths.(CU)
They made them walk in byways,
    on roads not built up.(CV)
16 Their land will be an object of horror(CW)
    and of lasting scorn;(CX)
all who pass by will be appalled(CY)
    and will shake their heads.(CZ)
17 Like a wind(DA) from the east,
    I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face(DB)
    in the day of their disaster.”

18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans(DC) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest(DD) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,(DE) nor the word from the prophets.(DF) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues(DG) and pay no attention to anything he says.”

19 Listen to me, Lord;
    hear what my accusers(DH) are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?(DI)
    Yet they have dug a pit(DJ) for me.
Remember that I stood(DK) before you
    and spoke in their behalf(DL)
    to turn your wrath away from them.
21 So give their children over to famine;(DM)
    hand them over to the power of the sword.(DN)
Let their wives be made childless and widows;(DO)
    let their men be put to death,
    their young men(DP) slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry(DQ) be heard from their houses
    when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit(DR) to capture me
    and have hidden snares(DS) for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know
    all their plots to kill(DT) me.
Do not forgive(DU) their crimes
    or blot out their sins from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
    deal with them in the time of your anger.(DV)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  2. Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / and the mountains of the land. / Your
  3. Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army
  4. Jeremiah 18:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.

A Life Pleasing to God

Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more.(A) For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;(B) that each one of you know how to control your own body[a] in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion, like the gentiles who do not know God; that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.(C) For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,(D) 10 and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you,(E) 12 so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one.(F)

The Coming of the Lord

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died,[b] so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.[c](G) 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.[d] 16 For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.(H) 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever.(I) 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you.(J) For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.(K) When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!(L)

Footnotes

  1. 4.4 Or control your own vessel or take a wife for yourself
  2. 4.13 Gk are asleep
  3. 4.14 Gk fallen asleep
  4. 4.15 Gk fallen asleep

Living to Please God

As for other matters, brothers and sisters,(A) we instructed you how to live(B) in order to please God,(C) as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

It is God’s will(D) that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;(E) that each of you should learn to control your own body[a](F) in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust(G) like the pagans,(H) who do not know God;(I) and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b](J) The Lord will punish(K) all those who commit such sins,(L) as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.(M) Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.(N)

Now about your love for one another(O) we do not need to write to you,(P) for you yourselves have been taught by God(Q) to love each other.(R) 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia.(S) Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,(T) 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands,(U) just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders(V) and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Believers Who Have Died

13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed(W) about those who sleep in death,(X) so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.(Y) 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again,(Z) and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.(AA) 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,(AB) will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.(AC) 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,(AD) with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel(AE) and with the trumpet call of God,(AF) and the dead in Christ will rise first.(AG) 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left(AH) will be caught up together with them in the clouds(AI) to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord(AJ) forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another(AK) with these words.

The Day of the Lord

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates(AL) we do not need to write to you,(AM) for you know very well that the day of the Lord(AN) will come like a thief in the night.(AO) While people are saying, “Peace and safety,”(AP) destruction will come on them suddenly,(AQ) as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.(AR)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 4:4 Or learn to live with your own wife; or learn to acquire a wife
  2. 1 Thessalonians 4:6 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family.

Psalm 81

God’s Appeal to Stubborn Israel

To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph.

Sing aloud to God our strength;
    shout for joy to the God of Jacob.(A)
Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
    the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
    at the full moon, on our festal day.(B)
For it is a statute for Israel,
    an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
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)
“I relieved your[b] shoulder of the burden;
    your[c] hands were freed from the basket.(D)
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)
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;
    O Israel, if you would but listen to me!(F)
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)

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Footnotes

  1. 81.5 Or against
  2. 81.6 Heb his
  3. 81.6 Heb his
  4. 81.16 Cn: Heb he would feed him

Psalm 81[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] Of Asaph.

Sing for joy to God our strength;
    shout aloud to the God of Jacob!(A)
Begin the music, strike the timbrel,(B)
    play the melodious harp(C) and lyre.(D)

Sound the ram’s horn(E) at the New Moon,(F)
    and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival;
this is a decree for Israel,
    an ordinance of the God of Jacob.(G)
When God went out against Egypt,(H)
    he established it as a statute for Joseph.

I heard an unknown voice say:(I)

“I removed the burden(J) from their shoulders;(K)
    their hands were set free from the basket.
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)
Hear me, my people,(O) and I will warn you—
    if you would only listen to me, Israel!
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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 81:1 In Hebrew texts 81:1-16 is numbered 81:2-17.
  2. Psalm 81:1 Title: Probably a musical term
  3. Psalm 81:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
    or stand in the place of the great,
for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
    than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen(A)
    do not hastily bring into court,
for[a] what will you do in the end,
    when your neighbor puts you to shame?(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 25.8 Cn: Heb or else

Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
    and do not claim a place among his great men;
it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”(A)
    than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.

What you have seen with your eyes
    do not bring[a] hastily to court,
for what will you do in the end
    if your neighbor puts you to shame?(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 25:8 Or nobles / on whom you had set your eyes. / Do not go