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.”

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.

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

Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.

Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.

For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.

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.

I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.

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.

Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;

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.

17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.(A) 18 He urged them to plead for mercy(B) from the God of heaven(C) concerning this mystery,(D) so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery(E) was revealed to Daniel in a vision.(F) Then Daniel praised the God of heaven(G) 20 and said:

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;(H)
    wisdom and power(I) are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;(J)
    he deposes(K) kings and raises up others.(L)
He gives wisdom(M) to the wise
    and knowledge to the discerning.(N)
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;(O)
    he knows what lies in darkness,(P)
    and light(Q) dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:(R)
    You have given me wisdom(S) and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
    you have made known to us the dream of the king.(T)

Daniel Interprets the Dream

24 Then Daniel went to Arioch,(U) whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”

25 Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles(V) from Judah(W) who can tell the king what his dream means.”

26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar),(X) “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”

27 Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,(Y) 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.(Z) He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.(AA) Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind(AB) as you were lying in bed(AC) are these:(AD)

29 “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.(AE) 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed(AF) to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

Read full chapter

17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:

21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.

24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.

25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?

27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;

28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;

29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.

30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

Read full chapter

Reasons for Writing

12 I am writing to you, dear children,(A)
    because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.(B)
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.(C)
I am writing to you, young men,
    because you have overcome(D) the evil one.(E)

14 I write to you, dear children,(F)
    because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.(G)
I write to you, young men,
    because you are strong,(H)
    and the word of God(I) lives in you,(J)
    and you have overcome the evil one.(K)

On Not Loving the World

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world.(L) If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[a] is not in them.(M) 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,(N) the lust of the eyes,(O) and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away,(P) but whoever does the will of God(Q) lives forever.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1 John 2:15 Or world, the Father’s love

12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.

14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Read full chapter

Jesus Prays for All Believers

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one,(A) Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.(B) May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.(C) 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me,(D) that they may be one as we are one(E) 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me(F) and have loved them(G) even as you have loved me.

24 “Father, I want those you have given me(H) to be with me where I am,(I) and to see my glory,(J) the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.(K)

25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you,(L) I know you, and they know that you have sent me.(M) 26 I have made you[a] known to them,(N) and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them(O) and that I myself may be in them.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. John 17:26 Greek your name

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

Read full chapter