Psalm 81:6–16

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^81:6It said:⁷ “I removed the burden from his shoulder;

his hands were released from holding the basket.⁸

^81:7In your distress you called out and I rescued you.

I answered you from a dark thundercloud.⁹

I tested you at the waters of Meribah.¹⁰

(Selah)

^81:8I said,¹¹ ‘Listen, my people!

I will warn¹² you!

O Israel, if only you would obey me!¹³

^81:9There must be¹⁴ no other¹⁵ god among you.

You must not worship a foreign god.

^81:10I am the Lord, your God,

the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide and I will fill it!’

^81:11But my people did not obey me;¹⁶

Israel did not submit to me.¹⁷

^81:12I gave them over to their stubborn desires;¹⁸

they did what seemed right to them.¹⁹

^81:13If only my people would obey me!²⁰

If only Israel would keep my commands!²¹

^81:14Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,

and attack²² their adversaries.”

^81:15(May those who hate the Lord²³ cower in fear²⁴ before him!

May they be permanently humiliated!)²⁵

^81:16“I would feed Israel the best wheat,²⁶

and would satisfy your appetite²⁷ with honey from the rocky cliffs.”²⁸

Read in Logos

Psalm 81:6–7: “I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket. In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

Footnotes

7 The words “It said” are not included in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.
8 I removed the burden. The Lord speaks metaphorically of how he delivered his people from Egyptian bondage. The reference to a basket/burden probably alludes to the hard labor of the Israelites in Egypt, where they had to carry loads of bricks (see Exod 1:14).
9 Heb “I answered you in the hidden place of thunder.” This may allude to God’s self-revelation at Mount Sinai, where he appeared in a dark cloud accompanied by thunder (see Exod 19:16).
10 The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at the place called Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1–7; Num 20:1–13). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.
11 The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Verses 8–10 appear to recall what the Lord commanded the generation of Israelites that experienced the events described in v. 7. Note the statement in v. 11, “my people did not listen to me.”
12 Or perhaps “command.”
13 The Hebrew particle אִם (“if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish ( §109.b). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.
14 The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 have a modal function, expressing what is obligatory.
15 Heb “different”; “illicit.”
16 Heb “did not listen to my voice.”
17 The Hebrew expression אָבָה לִי (’avah liy) means “submit to me” (see Deut 13:8).
18 Heb “and I sent him away in the stubbornness of their heart.”
19 Heb “they walked in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite (“walked”) or a customary imperfect (“were walking”).
20 Heb “if only my people were listening to me.” The Hebrew particle לוּ (lu, “if not”) introduces a purely hypothetical or contrary to fact condition (see 2 Sam 18:12).
21 Heb “[and if only] Israel would walk in my ways.”
22 Heb “turn my hand against.” The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack” (see Isa 1:25; Ezek 38:12; Amos 1:8; Zech 13:7).
23 “Those who hate the Lord” are also mentioned in 2 Chr 19:2 and Ps 139:21.
24 See Deut 33:29; Ps 66:3 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “to be weak; to be powerless” (see also Ps 109:24). The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, parallel to the jussive form in the next line.
25 Heb “and may their time be forever.” The Hebrew term עִתָּם (’ittam, “their time”) must refer here to the “time” of the demise and humiliation of those who hate the Lord. Some propose an emendation to בַּעֲתָתָם (ba’atatam) or בִּעֻתָם (bi’utam; “their terror”; i.e., “may their terror last forever”), but the omission of bet (ב) in the present Hebrew text is difficult to explain, making the proposed emendation unlikely. The verb form at the beginning of the line is jussive, indicating that this is a prayer. The translation assumes that v. 15 is a parenthetical “curse” offered by the psalmist. Having heard the reference to Israel’s enemies (v. 14), the psalmist inserts this prayer, reminding the Lord that they are God’s enemies as well.
26 Heb “and he fed him from the best of the wheat.” The Hebrew text has a third person form of the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive attached. However, it is preferable, in light of the use of the first person in v. 14 and in the next line, to emend the verb to a first person form and understand the vav as conjunctive, continuing the apodosis of the conditional sentence of vv. 13–14. The third masculine singular pronominal suffix refers to Israel, as in v. 6. I would feed. After the parenthetical “curse” in v. 15, the Lord’s speech continues here.
27 Heb “you.” The second person singular pronominal suffix refers to Israel, as in vv. 7–10.
28 The language in this verse, particularly the references to wheat and honey, is reminiscent of Deut 32:13–14.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“I relieved your shoulder of the burden;

your hands were freed from the basket.

In distress you called, and I delivered you;

I answered you in the secret place of thunder;

I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!

O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

There shall be no strange god among you;

you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

I am the Lord your God,

who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

“But my people did not listen to my voice;

Israel would not submit to me.

So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,

to follow their own counsels.

Oh, that my people would listen to me,

that Israel would walk in my ways!

I would soon subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes.

Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him,

and their fate would last forever.

But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,

and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“I removed the burden from their shoulders;

their hands were set free from the basket.

In your distress you called and I rescued you,

I answered you out of a thundercloud;

I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

Hear me, my people, and I will warn you—

if you would only listen to me, Israel!

You shall have no foreign god among you;

you shall not worship any god other than me.

I am the Lord your God,

who brought you up out of Egypt.

Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

“But my people would not listen to me;

Israel would not submit to me.

So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts

to follow their own devices.

“If my people would only listen to me,

if Israel would only follow my ways,

how quickly I would subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes!

Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,

and their punishment would last forever.

But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;

with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“I relieved his shoulder from the burden;

his hands were freed from carrying the basket.

You called out in distress, and I rescued you;

I answered you from the thundercloud.

I tested you at the Waters of Meribah.

Selah

Listen, my people, and I will admonish you.

Israel, if you would only listen to me!

There must not be a strange god among you;

you must not bow down to a foreign god.

I am the Lord your God,

who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

“But my people did not listen to my voice;

Israel did not obey me.

So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts

to follow their own plans.

If only my people would listen to me

and Israel would follow my ways,

I would quickly subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes.”

Those who hate the Lord

would cower to him;

their doom would last forever.

But he would feed Israel with the best wheat.

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

NLTNew Living Translation

“Now I will take the load from your shoulders;

I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.

You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you;

I answered out of the thundercloud

and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah.

Interlude

“Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings.

O Israel, if you would only listen to me!

You must never have a foreign god;

you must not bow down before a false god.

For it was I, the Lord your God,

who rescued you from the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.

“But no, my people wouldn’t listen.

Israel did not want me around.

So I let them follow their own stubborn desires,

living according to their own ideas.

Oh, that my people would listen to me!

Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!

How quickly I would then subdue their enemies!

How soon my hands would be upon their foes!

Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him;

they would be doomed forever.

But I would feed you with the finest wheat.

I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“I removed his shoulder from a burden.

His hands were freed from the basket.

In this trouble you called, and I rescued you.

Within the secret place of thunder I answered you;

I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you;

O Israel, if you would but listen to me.

There shall be no strange god among you,

and you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

I am Yahweh your God,

who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

But my people did not listen to my voice,

and Israel did not yield to me.

So I let them go in the stubbornness of their heart;

they walked in their counsels.

Oh that my people would listen to me;

that Israel would walk in my ways.

I would subdue their enemies quickly,

and turn my hand against their adversaries.

Those who hate Yahweh would cringe before him,

and their fate would be forever.

But he would feed him from the choicest wheat,

and I would satisfy you with honey from a rock.”

KJV 1900King James Version

I removed his shoulder from the burden:

His hands were delivered from the pots.

Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee;

I answered thee in the secret place of thunder:

I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.

Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee:

O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;

There shall no strange god be in thee;

Neither shalt thou worship any strange god.

I am the Lord thy God,

Which brought thee out of the land of Egypt:

Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

But my people would not hearken to my voice;

And Israel would none of me.

So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust:

And they walked in their own counsels.

Oh that my people had hearkened unto me,

And Israel had walked in my ways!

I should soon have subdued their enemies,

And turned my hand against their adversaries.

The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him:

But their time should have endured for ever.

He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat:

And with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

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