Psalms 81:9-16

9 There is to be no strange god among you; you are not to give worship to any other god.

10 I am the Lord your God, who took you up from the land of Egypt: let your mouth be open wide, so that I may give you food.

11 But my people did not give ear to my voice; Israel would have nothing to do with me.

12 So I gave them up to the desires of their hearts; that they might go after their evil purposes.

13 If only my people would give ear to me, walking in my ways!

14 I would quickly overcome their haters: my hand would be turned against those who make war on them.

15 The haters of the Lord would be broken, and their destruction would be eternal.

16 I would give them the best grain for food; you would be full of honey from the rock.

Psalms 81:9-16 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A [Psalm] of Asaph. Of "gittith," See Gill on "Ps 8:1." The Targum renders it, "upon the harp which came from Gath;" and so Jarchi says it was a musical instrument that came from Gath. The Septuagint, and the versions which follow that, render it, "for the winepresses." This psalm, according to Kimchi, is said concerning the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt; and was composed in order to be sung at their new moons and solemn feasts, which were typical of Gospel things in Gospel times; see Colossians 2:16 and so the Syriac version, "a psalm of Asaph, when David by him prepared himself for the solemnities."