Psalm 81 is the 81st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Sing aloud unto God our strength". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 80. In Latin, it is known as "Exultate deo adiutori nostro". It is one of the 12 Psalms of Asaph. Its themes relate to celebration and repentance. In the New King James Version its sub-title is "An Appeal for Israel's Repentance". The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music.

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

King James Version

The following is the full English text of the Psalm from the King James Bible.

Verse numbering

In the Hebrew Bible, Psalm 81:1 comprises the designation From then on Psalm 81:1–16 in English versions correspond to verses 2–17 in the Hebrew text.

Commentary

The reference to the new moon and full moon as well as the blowing of the trumpet in verse 3 may reflect the celebration of New Year and Tabernacles. The teaching of verses 9 and 10 is similar to the beginning of the Decalogue, although 'the words for "strange" god and "foreign" god are different from the "other gods" in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, with the verb "brought [you] up" and the order of the phrases reversed. The beginning of the psalm is like a hymn (verses 1–5b), which is followed by an oracle (verses 5c–16). In particular, verses 6-10 describe 'God's deliverance of his people from Egypt', whereas verses 11-16 recall the past disobedience of the people and promise to give victory over their enemies if they obey God.

Significance

W. Robert Godfrey, made a case that the poetic center of the Psalter being the middle book (book 3 of 5), middle Psalm (8 of 17) and even point to the middle verses of this Psalm (Psalm 81:8,9 with "if only my people would listen").

Uses

Judaism

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the sixteenth day of the month.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz set Psalm 81 in a metred version in German, "Singet mit Freuden unserm Gott", SWV 178, as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628. George Frideric Handel composed a movement of his Occasional Oratorio, HWV 62, setting verses 1 and 2 c. 1745. William Walton's 1931 cantata Belshazzar's Feast takes text from the psalm. In 1964, Herman Berlinski used the psalm in English, Sing joyfully, for four-part choir, organ and obbligato trumpet, combining it with texts from the High Holiday Prayerbook). Verses 1-4 were set by Adrian Batten in a sacred anthem entitled "O sing joyfully". Verse 1 was set by Alan Hovhaness for his motet Opus 68 Sing Aloud. Ofer Ben-Amots set the psalm in Hebrew for mixed choir and metal percussion in 1989. A 2022 song by New Zealand singer Brooke Ligertwood, "Honey in the Rock", is based on verse 16. An al-female a cappella group, Sweet Honey in the Rock, founded in 1973, takes its name from the same verse.