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Psalm chapter 81

English Standard Version

1 Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! 2Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. 3Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day. 4For it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob. 5He made it a decree in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt. I hear a language I had not known: 6"I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket. 7In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah 8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me! 9There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 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. 11"But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. 12So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. 13 Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! 14I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes. 15Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him, and their fate would last forever. 16But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."
New International Version

1For the director of music. According to gittith. Of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!
2Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre. 3Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival; 4this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5When God went out against Egypt, he established it as a statute for Joseph. I heard an unknown voice say: 6"I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket. 7In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. 8Hear me, my people, and I will warn you— if you would only listen to me, Israel! 9You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me.
10I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. 11"But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me.
12So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. 13"If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways, 14how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! 15Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. 16But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."
New American Standard Bible

1 Sing for joy to God our strength; Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. 2Raise a song, strike the tambourine, The sweet sounding lyre with the harp. 3Blow the trumpet at the new moon, At the full moon, on our feast day. 4For it is a statute for Israel, An ordinance of the God of Jacob. 5He established it as a testimony in Joseph When he went throughout the land of Egypt. I heard a language I did not know: 6'I relieved his shoulder of the burden, His hands were freed from the basket. 7You called in trouble and I rescued you; I answered you in the hiding place of thunder; I put you to the test at the waters of Meribah. Selah 8Hear, My people, and I will admonish you; Israel, if you would listen to Me! 9There shall be no strange god among you; Nor shall you worship a foreign god. 10I, the Lord, am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 11'But My people did not listen to My voice, And Israel did not obey Me. 12So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, To walk by their own plans. 13Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! 14I would quickly subdue their enemies And turn My hand against their adversaries. 15Those who hate the Lord would pretend to obey Him, And their time of punishment would be forever. 16 But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.'
Christian Standard Bible

1For the choir director: on the Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; shout in triumph to the God of Jacob. 2Lift up a song—play the tambourine, the melodious lyre, and the harp. 3Blow the horn on the day of our feasts during the new moon and during the full moon. 4For this is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. 5He set it up as a decree for Joseph when he went throughout the land of Egypt. I heard an unfamiliar language: 6"I relieved his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from carrying the basket.
7You called out in distress, and I rescued you; I answered you from the thundercloud. I tested you at the Waters of Meribah. Selah 8Listen, my people, and I will admonish you. Israel, if you would only listen to me! 9There must not be a strange god among you; you must not bow down to a foreign god.
10I am the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 11"But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel did not obey me. 12So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own plans. 13If only my people would listen to me and Israel would follow my ways, 14I would quickly subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes." 15Those who hate the Lord would cower to him; their doom would last forever. 16But he would feed Israel with the best wheat. "I would satisfy you with honey from the rock."
New Living Translation

1 Sing praises to God, our strength. Sing to the God of Jacob. 2Sing! Beat the tambourine. Play the sweet lyre and the harp. 3Blow the ram’s horn at new moon, and again at full moon to call a festival! 4For this is required by the decrees of Israel; it is a regulation of the God of Jacob.
5He made it a law for Israel 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.
7You 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! 9You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god. 10For 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. 12So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas. 13Oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths! 14How quickly I would then subdue their enemies! How soon my hands would be upon their foes! 15Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him; they would be doomed forever. 16But I would feed you with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.'
King James Version

1To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
4For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
5This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
6I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
7Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
8Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
9There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
10I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
12So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
13Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
14I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
15The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
16He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.
New King James Version

1{To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of Asaph.} Sing aloud to God our strength; Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob. 2Raise a song and strike the timbrel, The pleasant harp with the lute. 3Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, At the full moon, on our solemn feast day. 4For this is a statute for Israel, A law of the God of Jacob. 5This He established in Joseph as a testimony, When He went throughout the land of Egypt, Where I heard a language I did not understand. 6“I removed his shoulder from the burden; His hands were freed from the baskets.
7 You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! 9There shall be no foreign god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god. 10 I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 11“But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. 12 So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels. 13“Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! 14I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn My hand against their adversaries. 15 The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, But their fate would endure forever. 16He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.”

What does Psalm chapter 81 mean?

The song is also associated with Asaph, who was a servant of king David (1 Chronicles 16:4–5). This psalm is described using the term gittiyth, which literally means "winepress." This might refer to an instrument or a style of music.

Israel's people are called to praise the Lord using various musical instruments. Mention is made of a feast day. These holidays were defined according to a lunar calendar. Full moons and new moons were among the signs indicating when these festival should be held (Psalm 81:1–3).

God commanded the people of Israel to celebrate several festivals during the year (Leviticus 23). One of these is the Feast of Booths (Deuteronomy 16:13–15). That holiday's festive nature fits with the positive tone presented at the start of this psalm. God's commands came as part of the nation's journey from Egypt into the Promised Land. Along the way, God spoke to the people using several miraculous events. Those events might be part of what the psalmist means about an unknown language: that this was an entirely new way of hearing from the Lord. It might also suggest that the psalmist is hearing directly from God. Either way, the song will shift to speak from God's perspective (Psalm 81:4–5).

Critical moments to remember were the first Passover (Exodus 11:4) and Israel's rescue from slavery (Exodus 12:41). Moses went into a thundering, cloudy mystery at Sinai (Exodus 19:17–20). There, he was given commandments for the nation. Also mentioned is Israel's infamous complaining and doubting the Lord at Meribah (Exodus 17:3–7). That led to a miraculous spring of water from a rock. When the people were unhappy, God cared for them (Psalm 81:6–7).

Given that history, the Lord calls Israel to follow Him as He had commanded. The first of the Ten Commandments prohibited having other gods, and the second prohibiting worshiping idols (Exodus 20:2–5). God had promised to care for Israel and to bless them if they were loyal to Him (Deuteronomy 28:1). This psalm repeats God's intent to prosper His chosen people if they were willing to obey (Psalm 81:8–10).

However, a persistent theme of Israel's journey from Egypt to Canaan was disobedience and sin. Rather than cooperating with the God who rescued them from slavery, Israel was often defiant. At times, God responded to that rebellion with supernatural punishment (Numbers 21:4–9). Mostly, though, He left them to the natural consequences of their choices (Psalm 81:11–12).

Though God warned of consequences for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15), He also offered great benefits if Israel would obey (Deuteronomy 28:2–14). Even after falling into sin, God was willing to restore the nation (2 Chronicles 7:14) if they would come back to Him in faith. That would mean safety from their many enemies as well as prosperity in the Promised Land (Psalm 81:13–16).
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