Psalm 81–83

A Song for a Festival^z

81 Shout for joy to God our defender;

sing praise to the God of Jacob!

²Start the music and beat the tambourines;

play pleasant music on the harps and the lyres.

^3*Blow the trumpet for the festival,

when the moon is new and when the moon is full.

⁴This is the law in Israel,

an order from the God of Jacob.

⁵He gave it to the people of Israel when he attacked the land of Egypt.

I hear an unknown voice saying,

⁶“I took the burdens off your backs;

I let you put down your loads of bricks.

^7*When you were in trouble, you called to me, and I saved you.

From my hiding place in the storm, I answered you.

I put you to the test at the springs of Meribah.

⁸Listen, my people, to my warning;

Israel, how I wish you would listen to me!

^9*You must never worship another god.

¹⁰I am the Lord your God,

who brought you out of Egypt.

Open your mouth, and I will feed you.

¹¹“But my people would not listen to me;

Israel would not obey me.

¹²So I let them go their stubborn ways

and do whatever they wanted.

¹³How I wish my people would listen to me;

how I wish they would obey me!

¹⁴I would quickly defeat their enemies

and conquer all their foes.

¹⁵Those who hate me would bow in fear before me;

their punishment would last for ever.

¹⁶But I would feed you with the finest wheat

and satisfy you with wild honey.”

God the Supreme Ruler^a

82 God presides in the heavenly council;

in the assembly of the gods he gives his decision:

²“You must stop judging unjustly;

you must no longer be partial to the wicked!

³Defend the rights of the poor and the orphans;

be fair to the needy and the helpless.

⁴Rescue them from the power of the wicked.

⁵“How ignorant you are! How stupid!

You are completely corrupt,

and justice has disappeared from the world.

^6*‘You are gods,’ I said;

‘all of you are children of the Most High.’

⁷But you will die like mortals;

your life will end like that of any prince.”

⁸Come, O God, and rule the world;

all the nations are yours.

A Prayer for the Defeat of Israel’s Enemies^b

83 O God,

do not keep silent; do not be still, do not be quiet!

²Look! Your enemies are in revolt,

and those who hate you are rebelling.

³They are making secret plans against your people;

they are plotting against those you protect.

⁴“Come,” they say, “let us destroy their nation,

so that Israel will be forgotten for ever.”

⁵They agree on their plan

and form an alliance against you:

⁶the people of Edom and the Ishmaelites;

the people of Moab and the Hagrites;

⁷the people of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,

and of Philistia and Tyre.

⁸Assyria has also joined them

as a strong ally of the Ammonites and Moabites, the descendants of Lot.

^9*Do to them what you did to the Midianites,

and to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon.

¹⁰You defeated them at Endor,

and their bodies rotted on the ground.

^11*Do to their leaders what you did to Oreb and Zeeb;

defeat all their rulers as you did Zebah and Zalmunna,

¹²who said, “We will take for our own

the land that belongs to God.”

¹³Scatter them like dust, O God,

like straw blown away by the wind.

¹⁴As fire burns the forest,

as flames set the hills on fire,

¹⁵chase them away with your storm

and terrify them with your fierce winds.

¹⁶Cover their faces with shame, O Lord,

and make them acknowledge your power.

¹⁷May they be defeated and terrified for ever;

may they die in complete disgrace.

¹⁸May they know that you alone are the Lord,

supreme ruler over all the earth.