Psalm 81–83

Psalm 81

A CALL TO OBEDIENCE

For the choir director: on the Gittith. Of Asaph.^aa

¹Sing for joy to God our strength;

shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.^ab

²Lift up a song—play the tambourine,

the melodious lyre, and the harp.^ac

³Blow the trumpet on the day of our feasts^D

during the new moon^ad

and during the full moon.

⁴For this is a statute for Israel,

an ordinance of the God of Jacob.^ae

⁵He set it up as a decree for Joseph

when he went throughout^E the land of Egypt.^af

I heard an unfamiliar language:

⁶“I relieved his shoulder from the burden;

his hands were freed from carrying the basket.^ag

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

I answered you from the thundercloud.^ah

I tested you at the Waters of Meribah.^ai

Selah

⁸Listen, my people, and I will admonish you.

Israel, if you would only listen to me!^aj

⁹There must not be a strange god among you;

you must not bow down to a foreign god.^ak

¹⁰I am the Lord your God,

who brought you up from the land of Egypt.^al

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.^am

¹¹“But my people did not listen to my voice;

Israel did not obey me.^a

¹²So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts

to follow their own plans.^b

¹³If only my people would listen to me

and Israel would follow my ways,^c

¹⁴I would quickly subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes.”^d

¹⁵Those who hate the Lord

would cower to him;^e

their doom would last forever.^f

¹⁶But he would feed Israel^F with the best wheat.

“I would satisfy you with honey from the rock.”^g

Psalm 82

A PLEA FOR RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT

A psalm of Asaph.^h

¹God stands in the divine assembly;

he pronounces judgment among the gods:^Ai

²“How long will you judge unjustly

and show partiality to the wicked?^j

Selah

³Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;

uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.^k

⁴Rescue the poor and needy;

save them from the power of the wicked.”^l

⁵They do not know or understand;

they wander in darkness.^m

All the foundations of the earth are shaken.ⁿ

⁶I said, “You are gods;^o

you are all sons of the Most High.^p

⁷However, you will die like humans

and fall like any other ruler.”^q

⁸Rise up, God, judge the earth,

for all the nations belong to you.^r

Psalm 83

PRAYER AGAINST ENEMIES

A song. A psalm of Asaph.^s

¹God, do not keep silent.

Do not be deaf, God; do not be quiet.^t

²See how your enemies make an uproar;

those who hate you have acted arrogantly.^Bu

³They devise clever schemes against your people;

they conspire against your treasured ones.^v

⁴They say, “Come, lets wipe them out as a nation

so that Israel’s name will no longer be remembered.”^w

⁵For they have conspired with one mind;

they form an alliance^C against you^x—

⁶the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,^y

Moab and the Hagrites,^z

⁷Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,^aa

Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.^ab

⁸Even Assyria has joined them;

they lend support^D to the sons of Lot.^Eac

Selah

⁹Deal with them as you did with Midian,^ad

as you did with Sisera

and Jabin at the Kishon River.^ae

¹⁰They were destroyed at En-dor;

they became manure for the ground.^af

¹¹Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,^ag

and all their tribal leaders like Zebah and Zalmunna,^ah

¹²who said, “Lets seize God’s pastures for ourselves.”^ai

¹³Make them like tumbleweed, my God,

like straw before the wind.^aj

¹⁴As fire burns a forest,

as a flame blazes through mountains,^ak

¹⁵so pursue them with your tempest

and terrify them with your storm.^al

¹⁶Cover their faces with shame

so that they will seek your name, Lord.^am

¹⁷Let them be put to shame and terrified forever;

let them perish in disgrace.^an

¹⁸May they know that you alone—

whose name is the Lord—

are the Most High over the whole earth.^a