Psalms 81:11-16

11 “But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me.
12 So 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,
14 how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!
15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Psalms 81:11-16 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."

Cross References 7

  • 1. Exodus 32:1-6
  • 2. Ezekiel 20:25; Acts 7:42; Romans 1:24
  • 3. S Deuteronomy 5:29; Isaiah 48:18
  • 4. Psalms 47:3
  • 5. Amos 1:8
  • 6. S 2 Samuel 22:45
  • 7. S Deuteronomy 32:14
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