An Appeal for Israel’s Repentance
To the Chief Musician. On[a] an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of Asaph.
Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.
2 Raise a song and strike the timbrel,
The pleasant harp with the lute.
At the full moon, on our solemn feast day.
4 For this is a statute for Israel,
A law of the God of Jacob.
5 This He established in Joseph as a testimony,
When He went throughout the land of Egypt,
Where I heard a language I did not understand.
His hands were freed from the baskets.
7 You called in trouble, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of [b]Meribah. Selah
O Israel, if you will listen to Me!
9 There shall be no foreign god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.
10 I am the Lord your God,
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
And Israel would have none of Me.
12 So I gave them over to [c]their own stubborn heart,
To walk in their own counsels.
That Israel would walk in My ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies,
And turn My hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him,
But their [d]fate would endure forever.
16 He would have fed them also with [e]the finest of wheat;
And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 81:1 Heb. Al Gittith
- Psalm 81:7 Lit. Strife or Contention
- Psalm 81:12 the dictates of their heart
- Psalm 81:15 Lit. time
- Psalm 81:16 Lit. fat of wheat