Psalms 81 (ESV)

16 verses · English Standard Version · Essentially literal

The ESV balances word-for-word accuracy with modern English readability. Favored by scholars and pastors for study and preaching, it preserves the structure of the original Hebrew and Greek while using clear, contemporary language.

Psalms Chapter 81 contains 16 verses and is presented here in the English Standard Version (ESV), which uses a essentially literal approach. Read the full text below, compare with other translations, or navigate to any of the 150 chapters in Psalms.

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Chapter 80Chapter 82

1Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!

2Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet 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, a rule of the God of Jacob.

5He made it a decree in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt. I hear a language I had not known:

6“I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket.

7In 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

8Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

9There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

10I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11“But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.

12So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow 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 foes.

15Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him, and their fate would last forever.

16But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

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About This Translation

What is Psalms 81 in the ESV?

Psalms 81 in the English Standard Version (ESV) contains 16 verses. The ESV uses a essentially literal approach, first published in 2001 (rev. 2016).

How does the ESV translate Psalms 81 differently?

The English Standard Version uses essentially literal, balancing accuracy with modern readability. Compare this with the NIV (dynamic equivalence) version of Psalms 81 for a different perspective.

How many verses are in Psalms 81 (ESV)?

Psalms Chapter 81 contains 16 verses in the English Standard Version. The book of Psalms has 150 chapters total.

Psalms (ESV) — All 150 Chapters