Psalm 81 (BSB)

Sing for Joy to God Our Strength

1For the choirmaster. According to Gittith.81:1 Gittith is probably a musical or liturgical term; here and in Psalms 8 and 84. Of Asaph.

Sing for joy to God our strength;

make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.

2Lift up a song, strike the tambourine,

play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.

3Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,

and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.

4For this is a statute for Israel,

an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

5He ordained it as a testimony for Joseph81:5 Or in Joseph

when he went out over the land of Egypt,

where I heard an unfamiliar language:

6“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;

his hands were freed from the basket.

7You called out in distress, and I rescued you;

I answered you from the cloud of thunder;

I tested you at the waters of Meribah.81:7 Meribah means quarreling; see Exodus 17:7.

Selah

8Hear, O My people, and I will warn you:

O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!

9There must be no strange god among you,

nor shall you bow to a foreign god.

10I am the Lord your God,

who brought you up out of Egypt.

Open wide your mouth,

and I will fill it.

11But My people would not listen to Me,

and Israel would not obey Me.

12So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts

to follow their own devices.

13If only My people would listen to Me,

if Israel would follow My ways,

14how soon I would subdue their enemies

and turn My hand against their foes!

15Those who hate the Lord would feign obedience,

and their doom would last forever.

16But I would feed you the finest wheat;

with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Understand Psalm 81

Walk through Psalm 81 verse by verse, then read what three commentaries say about the chapter. The explanations are written for new readers.