Psalm 81 is the 81st
psalm
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
in the
biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
Book of Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
. Its themes relate to celebration and repentance. In the
New King James Version
The New King James Version (NKJV) is an English translation of the Bible. The complete NKJV Bible was published in 1982 by Thomas Nelson, now HarperCollins. The NKJV is described by Thomas Nelson as being "scrupulously faithful to the origin ...
its sub-title is "An Appeal for
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
's Repentance". In the slightly different numbering system of the Greek
Septuagint
The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...
version of the bible, and in its Latin translation, the
Vulgate
The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible.
The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
, this psalm is Psalm 80.
Text
Hebrew Bible version
Following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 81:
King James Version
The following is the full English text of the Psalm from the
King James Bible
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
.
: To the chief Musician upon Gittith, ''A Psalm'' of Asaph.
# Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
# Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
# Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
# For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
# This 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.
# I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
# Thou 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.
# Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
# There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
# I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
# But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
# So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
# Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
# I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
# The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
# He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.
Verse numbering
In the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
, Psalm 81:1 comprises the designation
:''To the chief Musician upon Gittith, ''A Psalm'' of Asaph.'' (
KJV
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...
)
From then on Psalm 81:1–16 in English versions correspond to verses 2–17 in the Hebrew text.
Commentary
The reference to the new moon and full moon as well as the blowing of the trumpet in verse 3 may reflect the celebration of New Year and
Tabernacles.
[ The teaching of verses 9 and 10 is similar to the beginning of the ]Decalogue
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
, although 'the words for "strange" god and "foreign" god are different from the "other gods" in Exodus 20
Twenty or 20 may refer to:
* 20 (number), the natural number following 19 and preceding 21
* one of the years 20 BC, AD 20, 1920, 2020
Music
Albums
* ''20'' (2nd Chapter of Acts album), 1992
* ''20'' (Cunter album), 2011
* ''20'' (Drag ...
and Deuteronomy 5, with the verb "brought ouup" and the order of the phrases reversed.[
The beginning of the psalm is like a hymn (verses 1–5b), which is followed by an oracle (verses 5c–16). In particular, verses 6-10 describe 'God's deliverance of his people from Egypt', whereas verses 11-16 recall the past disobedience of the people and promise to give victory over their enemies if they obey God.]
Significance
Robert Godfrey, Sinclair Ferguson and some others make this the poetic center of the Psalter being the middle book (book 3 of 5), middle Psalm (8 of 17) and even point to the middle verses of this Psalm (Psalm 81:8,9 with "if only my people would listen").
Uses
Judaism
*The psalm is recited in its entirety in the of Thursday">he.html" ;"title="Psalm">.e._Psalm.html" ;"title="Psalm.html" ;"title=".e. Psalm">.e. Psalm">Psalm.html" ;"title=".e. Psalm">.e. Psalmo ...
.
in a sacred anthem entitled "O sing joyfully". Verse 1 was set by
for his motet Opus 68 ''Sing Aloud''.
* in Hebrew and English - Mechon-mamre
* King James Bible - Wikisource
{{Psalms