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)

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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

81 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.

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10 I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of Egypt.(A)
Open(B) wide your mouth and I will fill(C) it.

11 “But my people would not listen to me;
    Israel would not submit to me.(D)
12 So I gave them over(E) to their stubborn hearts
    to follow their own devices.

13 “If my people would only listen to me,(F)
    if Israel would only follow my ways,
14 how quickly I would subdue(G) their enemies
    and turn my hand against(H) their foes!
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe(I) before him,
    and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;(J)
    with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

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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.

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Israel Forsakes God

The word(A) of the Lord came to me: “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:

“This is what the Lord says:

“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,(B)
    how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,(C)
    through a land not sown.
Israel was holy(D) to the Lord,(E)
    the firstfruits(F) of his harvest;
all who devoured(G) her were held guilty,(H)
    and disaster overtook them,’”
declares the Lord.

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Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.

Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.

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14 Is Israel a servant, a slave(A) by birth?
    Why then has he become plunder?
15 Lions(B) have roared;
    they have growled at him.
They have laid waste(C) his land;
    his towns are burned(D) and deserted.(E)
16 Also, the men of Memphis(F) and Tahpanhes(G)
    have cracked your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourselves(H)
    by forsaking(I) the Lord your God
    when he led you in the way?
18 Now why go to Egypt(J)
    to drink water from the Nile[a]?(K)
And why go to Assyria(L)
    to drink water from the Euphrates?(M)
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
    your backsliding(N) will rebuke(O) you.
Consider then and realize
    how evil and bitter(P) it is for you
when you forsake(Q) the Lord your God
    and have no awe(R) of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke(S)
    and tore off your bonds;(T)
    you said, ‘I will not serve you!’(U)
Indeed, on every high hill(V)
    and under every spreading tree(W)
    you lay down as a prostitute.(X)
21 I had planted(Y) you like a choice vine(Z)
    of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
    into a corrupt,(AA) wild vine?
22 Although you wash(AB) yourself with soap(AC)
    and use an abundance of cleansing powder,
    the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.(AD)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 2:18 Hebrew Shihor; that is, a branch of the Nile

14 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?

15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.

16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.

17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way?

18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?

19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.

20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.

21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?

22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.

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A Mother’s Request(A)

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons(B) came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down,(C) asked a favor of him.

21 “What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”(D)

22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup(E) I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup,(F) but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant(G) with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,(H) 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man(I) did not come to be served, but to serve,(J) and to give his life as a ransom(K) for many.”

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20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.

21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.

22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.

23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

24 And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.

25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

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