Psalm 81:4-14

4 For it is a statute for Israel, An ordinance of the God of Jacob.

5 He established it for a testimony in Joseph When he ¹went throughout the land of Egypt. I heard a ²language that I did not know:

6 "I ³relieved his shoulder of the burden, His hands were freed from the basket.

7 "You ⁴called in trouble and I rescued you; I ⁵answered you in the hiding place of thunder; I proved you at the ⁶waters of Meribah. Selah.

8 "⁷Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you ⁸would listen to Me!

9 "Let there be no ⁹strange god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god.

10 "¹⁰I, the LORD, am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; ¹¹Open your mouth wide and I will ¹²fill it.

11 "But My people ¹³did not listen to My voice, And Israel did not obey Me.

12 "So I ¹⁴gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, To walk in their own devices.

13 "Oh that My people ¹⁵would listen to Me, That Israel would ¹⁶walk in My ways!

14 "I would quickly ¹⁷subdue their enemies And ¹⁸turn My hand against their adversaries.

Psalm 81:4-14 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

• 1. Exodus 11:4
• 2. Deuteronomy 28:49; Psalms 114:1; Jeremiah 5:15
• 3. Isaiah 9:4; Isaiah 10:27
• 4. Exodus 2:23; Exodus 14:10; Psalms 50:15
• 5. Exodus 19:19; Exodus 20:18
• 6. Exodus 17:6, 7; Numbers 20:13; Psalms 95:8
• 7. Psalms 50:7
• 8. Psalms 95:7
• 9. Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7; Deuteronomy 32:12; Psalms 44:20; Isaiah 43:12
• 10. Exodus 20:2; Deuteronomy 5:6
• 11. Job 29:23
• 12. Psalms 37:4; Psalms 78:25; Psalms 107:9
• 13. Deuteronomy 32:15; Psalms 106:25
• 14. Job 8:4; Acts 7:42; Romans 1:24, 26
• 15. Deuteronomy 5:29; Psalms 81:8; Isaiah 48:18
• 16. Psalms 128:1; Isaiah 42:24; Jeremiah 7:23
• 17. Psalms 18:47; Psalms 47:3
• 18. Amos 1:8

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "went out over"
• [b] Lit "removed his shoulder from"
• [c] Or "brick load"
• [d] "Selah" may mean: "Pause, Crescendo" or "Musical interlude"
• [e] Or "bear witness against"
• [f] Lit "yield to"
• [g] Lit "him"