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A Song for a Festival[a]

81 Shout for joy to God our defender;
    sing praise to the God of Jacob!
Start the music and beat the tambourines;
    play pleasant music on the harps and the lyres.
(A)Blow the trumpet for the festival,
    when the moon is new and when the moon is full.
This is the law in Israel,
    an order from the God of Jacob.
He gave it to the people of Israel
    when he attacked the land of Egypt.

I hear an unknown voice saying,
“I took the burdens off your backs;
    I let you put down your loads of bricks.
(B)When you were in trouble, you called to me, and I saved you.
    From my hiding place in the storm, I answered you.
    I put you to the test at the springs of Meribah.
Listen, my people, to my warning;
    Israel, how I wish you would listen to me!
(C)You must never worship another god.
10 I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you out of Egypt.
Open your mouth, and I will feed you.

11 “But my people would not listen to me;
    Israel would not obey me.
12 So I let them go their stubborn ways
    and do whatever they wanted.
13 How I wish my people would listen to me;
    how I wish they would obey me!
14 I would quickly defeat their enemies
    and conquer all their foes.
15 Those who hate me would bow in fear before me;
    their punishment would last forever.
16 But I would feed you with the finest wheat
    and satisfy you with wild honey.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 81:1 HEBREW TITLE: By Asaph.

Psalm 81

God’s Appeal to Stubborn Israel

To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph.

Sing aloud to God our strength;
    shout for joy to the God of Jacob.(A)
Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
    the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
    at the full moon, on our festal day.(B)
For it is a statute for Israel,
    an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
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)
“I relieved your[b] shoulder of the burden;
    your[c] hands were freed from the basket.(D)
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)
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;
    O Israel, if you would but listen to me!(F)
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)

Footnotes

  1. 81.5 Or against
  2. 81.6 Heb his
  3. 81.6 Heb his
  4. 81.16 Cn: Heb he would feed him

81 (0) For the Leader. On the gittit. By Asaf:

(1) Sing for joy to God our strength!
Shout to the God of Ya‘akov!
(2) Start the music! Beat the drum!
Play the sweet lyre and the lute!
(3) Sound the shofar at Rosh-Hodesh
and at full moon for the pilgrim feast,
(4) because this is a law for Isra’el,
a ruling of the God of Ya‘akov.
(5) He placed it as a testimony in Y’hosef
when he went out against the land of Egypt.

I heard an unfamiliar voice say,
(6) “I lifted the load from his shoulder;
his hands were freed from the [laborer’s] basket.
(7) You called out when you were in trouble,
and I rescued you;
I answered you from the thundercloud;
I tested you at the M’rivah Spring [by saying,] (Selah)

(8) “‘Hear, my people, while I give you warning!
Isra’el, if you would only listen to me!
10 (9) There is not to be with you any foreign god;
you are not to worship an alien god.
11 (10) I am Adonai your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth, and I will fill it.’

12 (11) “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Isra’el would have none of me.
13 (12) So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to live by their own plans.
14 (13) How I wish my people would listen to me,
that Isra’el would live by my ways!
15 (14) I would quickly subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
16 (15) Those who hate Adonai would cringe before him,
while [Isra’el’s] time would last forever.
17 (16) They would be fed with the finest wheat,
and I would satisfy you with honey from the rocks.”

81 1-5 A song to our strong God!
    a shout to the God of Jacob!
Anthems from the choir, music from the band,
    sweet sounds from lute and harp,
Trumpets and trombones and horns:
    it’s festival day, a feast to God!
A day decreed by God,
    solemnly ordered by the God of Jacob.
He commanded Joseph to keep this day
    so we’d never forget what he did in Egypt.

    I hear this most gentle whisper from One
    I never guessed would speak to me:

6-7 “I took the world off your shoulders,
    freed you from a life of hard labor.
You called to me in your pain;
    I got you out of a bad place.
I answered you from where the thunder hides,
    I proved you at Meribah Fountain.

8-10 “Listen, dear ones—get this straight;
    O Israel, don’t take this lightly.
Don’t take up with strange gods,
    don’t worship the popular gods.
I’m God, your God, the very God
    who rescued you from doom in Egypt,
Then fed you all you could eat,
    filled your hungry stomachs.

11-12 “But my people didn’t listen,
    Israel paid no attention;
So I let go of the reins and told them, ‘Run!
    Do it your own way!’

13-16 “Oh, dear people, will you listen to me now?
    Israel, will you follow my map?
I’ll make short work of your enemies,
    give your foes the back of my hand.
I’ll send the God-haters cringing like dogs,
    never to be heard from again.
You’ll feast on my fresh-baked bread
    spread with butter and rock-pure honey.”

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.