Psalm 81-83

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!
²Raise a song; sound ^(E)the tambourine,
    ^(F)the sweet lyre with ^(G)the harp.
³Blow the trumpet at ^(H)the new moon,
    at the full moon, on our feast day.

⁴For it is a statute for Israel,
    a rule^[b] of the God of Jacob.
⁵He 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.
⁷In 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!
⁹There 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.
¹²So 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!
¹⁴I would soon subdue their enemies
    and ^(AD)turn my hand against their foes.
¹⁵Those who hate the Lord would ^(AE)cringe toward him,
    and their fate would last forever.
¹⁶But he would feed you^[e] with ^(AF)the finest of the wheat,
    and with ^(AG)honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Rescue the Weak and Needy

A Psalm of ^(AH)Asaph.

82 ^(AI)God ^(AJ)has taken his place in the divine council;
    in the midst of ^(AK)the gods he ^(AL)holds judgment:
²“How long will you judge unjustly
    and ^(AM)show partiality to ^(AN)the wicked? Selah
³^(AO)Give justice to ^(AP)the weak and the fatherless;
    ^(AQ)maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
⁴^(AR)Rescue the weak and the needy;
    ^(AS)deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

⁵^(AT)They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
^(AU)they walk about in darkness;
^(AV)all the foundations of the earth are ^(AW)shaken.

⁶^(AX)I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
⁷nevertheless, like men ^(AY)you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”^[f]

⁸^(AZ)Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall ^(BA)inherit all the nations!

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of ^(BB)Asaph.

83 O God, do not keep silence;
    ^(BC)do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
²For behold, your enemies ^(BD)make an uproar;
    those who hate you have ^(BE)raised their heads.
³They lay ^(BF)crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your ^(BG)treasured ones.
⁴They say, “Come, ^(BH)let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
⁵For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant—
⁶the tents of ^(BI)Edom and ^(BJ)the Ishmaelites,
    ^(BK)Moab and ^(BL)the Hagrites,
⁷^(BM)Gebal and ^(BN)Ammon and ^(BO)Amalek,
    ^(BP)Philistia with the inhabitants of ^(BQ)Tyre;
⁸^(BR)Asshur also has joined them;
    they are the strong arm of ^(BS)the children of Lot. Selah

⁹Do to them as you did to ^(BT)Midian,
    as to ^(BU)Sisera and Jabin at ^(BV)the river Kishon,
¹⁰who were destroyed at ^(BW)En-dor,
    who became ^(BX)dung for the ground.
¹¹Make their nobles like ^(BY)Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like ^(BZ)Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹²who said, ^(CA)“Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”

¹³O my God, make them like ^(CB)whirling dust,^[g]
    like ^(CC)chaff before the wind.
¹⁴As ^(CD)fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame ^(CE)sets the mountains ablaze,
¹⁵so may you pursue them ^(CF)with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!
¹⁶^(CG)Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O Lord.
¹⁷Let them be ^(CH)put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
¹⁸that they may ^(CI)know that you alone,
    ^(CJ)whose name is the Lord,
    are ^(CK)the Most High over all the earth.

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
Psalm 82:7 Or fall as one man, O princes
Psalm 83:13 Or like a tumbleweed

1 Peter 1

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of ^(A)the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ²according to ^(B)the foreknowledge of God the Father, ^(C)in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and ^(D)for sprinkling with his blood:

May ^(E)grace and ^(F)peace be multiplied to you.

Born Again to a Living Hope

³^(G)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ^(H)According to his great mercy, ^(I)he has caused us to be born again to a living hope ^(J)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to ^(K)an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and ^(L)unfading, ^(M)kept in heaven for you, ⁵who by God's power are being guarded ^(N)through faith for a salvation ^(O)ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by ^(P)various trials, ⁷so that ^(Q)the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes ^(R)though it is tested by ^(S)fire—may be found to result in ^(T)praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸^(U)Though you have not seen him, you love him. ^(V)Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹obtaining ^(W)the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰Concerning this salvation, ^(X)the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹inquiring ^(Y)what person or time^[a] ^(Z)the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating ^(AA)when he predicted ^(AB)the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ¹²^(AC)It was revealed to them that ^(AD)they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you ^(AE)by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, ^(AF)things into which angels long to look.

Called to Be Holy

¹³Therefore, ^(AG)preparing your minds for action,^[b] and ^(AH)being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴As obedient children, ^(AI)do not be conformed to the passions ^(AJ)of your former ignorance, ¹⁵but ^(AK)as he who called you is holy, you also be holy ^(AL)in all your conduct, ¹⁶since it is written, ^(AM)“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷And if you ^(AN)call on him as Father who ^(AO)judges ^(AP)impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves ^(AQ)with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸knowing that you ^(AR)were ransomed from ^(AS)the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹but ^(AT)with the precious blood of Christ, like that of ^(AU)a lamb ^(AV)without blemish or spot. ²⁰He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but ^(AW)was made manifest ^(AX)in the last times for the sake of you ²¹^(AY)who through him are believers in God, ^(AZ)who raised him from the dead and ^(BA)gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²²Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for ^(BB)a sincere brotherly love, ^(BC)love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³^(BD)since you have been born again, ^(BE)not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through ^(BF)the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴for

^(BG)“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
²⁵^(BH)but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word ^(BI)is the good news that was preached to you.