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Psalm 81-83
Common English Bible
Psalm 81-83
Common English Bible
Psalm 81
For the music leader. According to the Gittith. Of Asaph.
81 Rejoice out loud to God, our strength!
Shout for joy to Jacob’s God!
2 Take up a song and strike the drum!
Sweet lyre along with harp!
3 Blow the horn on the new moon,
at the full moon, for our day of celebration!
4 Because this is the law for Israel;
this is a rule of Jacob’s God.
5 He made it a decree for Joseph
when he went out against the land of Egypt,
when I heard a language I did not yet know:
6 “I lifted the burden off your shoulders;
your hands are free of the brick basket!
7 In distress you cried out, so I rescued you.
I answered you in the secret of thunder.
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 Listen, my people, I’m warning you!
If only you would listen to me, Israel.
9 There must be no foreign god among you.
You must not bow down to any strange deity.
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up from Egypt’s land.
Open your mouth wide—I will fill it up!
11 But my people wouldn’t listen to my voice.
Israel simply wasn’t agreeable toward me.
12 So I sent them off to follow their willful hearts;
they followed their own advice.
13 How I wish my people would listen to me!
How I wish Israel would walk in my ways!
14 Then I would subdue their enemies in a second;
I would turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would grovel before me,
and their doom would last forever!
16 But I would feed you with the finest wheat.
I would satisfy you with honey from the rock.”
Psalm 82
A psalm of Asaph.
82 God takes his stand in the divine council;
he gives judgment among the gods:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
by granting favor to the wicked? Selah
3 Give justice to the lowly and the orphan;
maintain the right of the poor and the destitute!
4 Rescue the lowly and the needy.
Deliver them from the power of the wicked!
5 They don’t know; they don’t understand;
they wander around in the dark.
All the earth’s foundations shake.
6 I hereby declare, “You are gods,
children of the Most High—all of you!
7 But you will die like mortals;
you will fall down like any prince.”
8 Rise up, God! Judge the earth
because you hold all nations in your possession!
Psalm 83
A song. A psalm of Asaph.
83 God, don’t be silent!
Don’t be quiet or sit still, God,
2 because—look!—your enemies are growling;
those who hate you are acting arrogantly.
3 They concoct crafty plans against your own people;
they plot against the people you favor.
4 “Come on,” they say, “let’s wipe them out as a nation!
Let the name Israel be remembered no more!”
5 They plot with a single-minded heart;
they make a covenant against you.
6 They are the clans of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal, Ammon, Amalek,
Philistia along with the citizens of Tyre.
8 Assyria too has joined them—
they are the strong arm for Lot’s children. Selah
9 Do to them what you did to Midian,
to Sisera, and to Jabin at the Kishon River.
10 They were destroyed at Endor;
they became fertilizer for the ground.
11 Make their officials like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna—
12 those who said, “Let’s take God’s pastures for ourselves.”
13 My God, make them like tumbleweeds,
like chaff blown by wind.
14 Just like a fire consumes a forest,
just like flames set mountains ablaze,
15 pursue them with your storm,
terrify them with your hurricane.
16 Cover their faces with shame, Lord, so that they might seek your name.
17 Let them be shamed and terrified forever.
Let them die in disgrace.
18 Let them know that you—
your name is the Lord!—
you alone are Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 81-83
New International Version
Psalm 81-83
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.”
Psalm 82
A psalm of Asaph.
2 “How long will you[d] defend the unjust
and show partiality(AC) to the wicked?[e](AD)
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;(AE)
uphold the cause of the poor(AF) and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.(AG)
They walk about in darkness;(AH)
all the foundations(AI) of the earth are shaken.
6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”;(AJ)
you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die(AK) like mere mortals;
you will fall like every other ruler.”
Psalm 83[f]
A song. A psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, do not remain silent;(AO)
do not turn a deaf ear,
do not stand aloof, O God.
2 See how your enemies growl,(AP)
how your foes rear their heads.(AQ)
3 With cunning they conspire(AR) against your people;
they plot against those you cherish.(AS)
4 “Come,” they say, “let us destroy(AT) them as a nation,(AU)
so that Israel’s name is remembered(AV) no more.”
5 With one mind they plot together;(AW)
they form an alliance against you—
6 the tents of Edom(AX) and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab(AY) and the Hagrites,(AZ)
7 Byblos,(BA) Ammon(BB) and Amalek,(BC)
Philistia,(BD) with the people of Tyre.(BE)
8 Even Assyria(BF) has joined them
to reinforce Lot’s descendants.[g](BG)
9 Do to them as you did to Midian,(BH)
as you did to Sisera(BI) and Jabin(BJ) at the river Kishon,(BK)
10 who perished at Endor(BL)
and became like dung(BM) on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,(BN)
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,(BO)
12 who said, “Let us take possession(BP)
of the pasturelands of God.”
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 82:2 The Hebrew is plural.
- Psalm 82:2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
- Psalm 83:1 In Hebrew texts 83:1-18 is numbered 83:2-19.
- Psalm 83:8 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
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.