Day 16 — Psalm 81

HEBREW

PSALM 81

For the feast of Tabernacles

For the choirmaster, upon the gittit, of Asaph.

Shout for joy to honor God our strength,

shout to acclaim the God of Jacob!

Start the music, sound the drum,

the melodious lyre and the harp;

sound the New Moon trumpet,

at the full moon, on our feast day!

This is a statute binding on Israel,

an ordinance of the God of Jacob,

this decree He imposed on Joseph

when He went to war against Egypt.

I can hear a voice I no longer recognize,

‘It was I who relieved your shoulder of the burden,

your hands could drop the laborer's basket;

You called in Your trouble, so I rescued you.

‘Hidden in the storm, I answered you,

I tested you at the waters of Meribah, selah.

Listen, you are My people, let Me warn you.

Israel, if you would only listen to Me!

‘Tolerate no foreign god,

worship no alien god;

I, Yahweh, am your God,

I who brought you here from Egypt;

you have only to open your mouth for Me to fill it.

‘My people refused to listen to Me,

Israel refused to obey Me,

so I left them to their stubborn selves

to do whatever they pleased.

‘If only My people would listen,

if Israel would follow My ways,

at one blow I would defeat their enemies

and strike at all who attack them.

‘Then those who hate Yahweh would cringe,

their doom being sealed for ever;

while I would feet you on pure wheat

and satisfy you with the wild rock honey.’

Next… Psalm 82