Psalm 81
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 81
God’s Appeal to Stubborn Israel
To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph.
1 Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob.(A)
2 Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our festal day.(B)
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 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)
6 “I relieved your[b] shoulder of the burden;
your[c] hands were freed from the basket.(D)
7 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)
8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!(F)
9 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)
Psalm 83
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 83
Prayer for Judgment on Israel’s Foes
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, do not keep silent;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!(A)
2 Even now your enemies are in tumult;
those who hate you have raised their heads.(B)
3 They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against those you protect.(C)
4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more.”(D)
5 They conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—(E)
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,(F)
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah
9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the Wadi Kishon,(G)
10 who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,(H)
12 who said, “Let us take the pastures of God
for our own possession.”(I)
13 O my God, make them like whirling dust,[a]
like chaff before the wind.(J)
14 As fire consumes the forest,
as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,(K)
15 so pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane.(L)
16 Fill their faces with shame,
so that they may seek your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
let them perish in disgrace.(M)
18 Let them know that you alone,
whose name is the Lord,
are the Most High over all the earth.(N)
Footnotes
- 83.13 Or a tumbleweed
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.