Psalm 81
New Living Translation
Psalm 81
For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.[a]
1 Sing praises to God, our strength.
Sing to the God of Jacob.
2 Sing! Beat the tambourine.
Play the sweet lyre and the harp.
3 Blow the ram’s horn at new moon,
and again at full moon to call a festival!
4 For this is required by the decrees of Israel;
it is a regulation of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it a law for Israel[b]
when he attacked Egypt to set us free.
I heard an unknown voice say,
6 “Now I will take the load from your shoulders;
I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.
7 You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you;
I answered out of the thundercloud
and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah. Interlude
8 “Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings.
O Israel, if you would only listen to me!
9 You must never have a foreign god;
you must not bow down before a false god.
10 For it was I, the Lord your God,
who rescued you from the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.
11 “But no, my people wouldn’t listen.
Israel did not want me around.
12 So I let them follow their own stubborn desires,
living according to their own ideas.
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me!
Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!
14 How quickly I would then subdue their enemies!
How soon my hands would be upon their foes!
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him;
they would be doomed forever.
16 But I would feed you with the finest wheat.
I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”
Psalm 81
English Standard Version
Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me
To the choirmaster: according to (A)The Gittith.[a] Of (B)Asaph.
81 (C)Sing aloud to God our strength;
(D)shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2 Raise a song; sound (E)the tambourine,
(F)the sweet lyre with (G)the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at (H)the new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
a rule[b] of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it (I)a decree in (J)Joseph
when he (K)went out over[c] the land of Egypt.
(L)I hear a language (M)I had not known:
6 “I (N)relieved your[d] shoulder of (O)the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
7 In distress you (P)called, and I delivered you;
I (Q)answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I (R)tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 (S)Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9 There shall be no (T)strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a (U)foreign god.
10 (V)I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
(W)Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel (X)would not submit to me.
12 So I (Y)gave them over to their (Z)stubborn hearts,
to follow their own (AA)counsels.
13 (AB)Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would (AC)walk in my ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies
and (AD)turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would (AE)cringe toward him,
and their fate would last forever.
16 But he would feed you[e] with (AF)the finest of the wheat,
and with (AG)honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 81:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 81:4 Or just decree
- Psalm 81:5 Or against
- Psalm 81:6 Hebrew his; also next line
- Psalm 81:16 That is, Israel; Hebrew him
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
