Psalm 81

A CALL TO OBEDIENCE

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

1 Sing for joy to God our strength;

shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.ab

2 Lift up a song—play the tambourine,

the melodious lyre, and the harp.ac

3 Blow the trumpet on the day of our feastsD

during the new moonad

and during the full moon.

4 For this is a statute for Israel,

an ordinance of the God of Jacob.ae

5 He set it up as a decree for Joseph

when he went throughoutE 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

7 You 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

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

Israel, if you would only listen to me!aj

9 There must not be a strange god among you;

you must not bow down to a foreign god.ak

10 I 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

12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts

to follow their own plans.b

13 If only my people would listen to me

and Israel would follow my ways,c

14 I would quickly subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes.”d

15 Those who hate the Lord

would cower to him;e

their doom would last forever.f

16 But he would feed IsraelF 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

1 God stands in the divine assembly;

he pronounces judgment among the gods:A,i

2 “How long will you judge unjustly

and show partiality to the wicked?j

Selah

3 Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;

uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.k

4 Rescue the poor and needy;

save them from the power of the wicked.”l

5 They do not know or understand;

they wander in darkness.m

All the foundations of the earth are shaken.n

6 I said, “You are gods;o

you are all sons of the Most High.p

7 However, you will die like humans

and fall like any other ruler.”q

8 Rise 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

1 God, do not keep silent.

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

2 See how your enemies make an uproar;

those who hate you have acted arrogantly.B,u

3 They devise clever schemes against your people;

they conspire against your treasured ones.v

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

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

5 For they have conspired with one mind;

they form an allianceC against youx—

6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,y

Moab and the Hagrites,z

7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,aa

Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.ab

8 Even Assyria has joined them;

they lend supportD to the sons of Lot.E,ac

Selah

9 Deal with them as you did with Midian,ad

as you did with Sisera

and Jabin at the Kishon River.ae

10 They were destroyed at En-dor;

they became manure for the ground.af

11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,ag

and all their tribal leaders like Zebah and Zalmunna,ah

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

13 Make them like tumbleweed, my God,

like straw before the wind.aj

14 As fire burns a forest,

as a flame blazes through mountains,ak

15 so pursue them with your tempest

and terrify them with your storm.al

16 Cover their faces with shame

so that they will seek your name, Lord.am

17 Let them be put to shame and terrified forever;

let them perish in disgrace.an

18 May they know that you alone—

whose name is the Lord—

are the Most High over the whole earth.a