Zabur 81

For the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. By Asaph.

1Sing aloud to God1, our strength!
Make a joyful shout to the God of Yaqub2!
2Raise a song, and bring here the tambourine,
The pleasant lyre with the harp.
3Blow the trumpet at the New Moon,
At the full moon, on our feast day.
4For it is a statute for Israel,
An ordinance of the God of Yaqub.
5He appointed it in Yusuf3 for a testimony,
When he went out over the land of Egypt,
I heard a language that I didn’t know.
6“I removed his shoulder from the burden.
His hands were freed from the basket.
7You called in trouble, and I delivered you.
I answered you in the secret place of thunder.
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.” Selah.

8“Hear, my people, and I will testify to you,
Israel, if you would listen to me!
9There shall be no strange god in you,
Neither shall you worship any foreign god.
10I am YAHWEH4, your God,
Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11But my people didn’t listen to my voice.
Israel desired none of me.
12So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts,
That they might walk in their own counsels.
13Oh that my people would listen to me,
That Israel would walk in my ways!
14I would soon subdue their enemies,
And turn my hand against their adversaries.
15The haters of YAHWEH would cringe before him,
And their punishment would last forever.
16But he would have also fed them with the finest of the wheat.
I will satisfy you with honey out of the rock.”

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  1. 81:1 God, in Hebrew elohim, which is related to the Arabic allah. Both words translate correctly as “God,” referring to the one true God. ↩︎
  2. 81:1 Yaqub, or Jacob, derived from the Hebrew name Ya’akov. ↩︎
  3. 81:5 Yusuf, or Joseph, derived from the Hebrew name Yosef. ↩︎
  4. 81:10 YAHWEH, God’s personal Name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15: ‘God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”’ ↩︎