Psalms 81

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	NEW JERUSALEM
1 A Psalm of Asaph. God has stood in the synagogue of gods, but, in their midst, he decides between gods.	1 [For the choirmaster On the . . . of Gath Of Asaph] Sing for joy to God our strength, shout in triumph tothe God of Jacob.
2 How long will you judge unjustly and favor the faces of sinners?	2 Strike up the music, beat the tambourine, play the melodious harp and the lyre;
3 Judge for the indigent and the orphan. Do justice to the humble and the poor.	3 blow the trumpet for the new month, for the ful moon, for our feast day!
4 Rescue the poor, and free the needy from the hand of the sinner.	4 For Israel has this statute, a decision of the God of Jacob,
5 They did not know and did not understand. They wander in darkness. All the foundations of the earth will be moved.	5 a decree he imposed on Joseph, when he went to war against Egypt. I heard a voice unknown to me,
6 I said: You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.	6 'I freed his shoulder from the burden, his hands were able to lay aside the labourer's basket.
7 But you will die like men, and you will fall just like one of the princes.	7 You cried out in your distress, so I rescued you. 'Hidden in the storm, I answered you, I tested you atthe waters of Meribah.Pause
8 Rise up, O God. Judge the earth. For you will inherit it with all the nations.	8 Listen, my people, while I give you warning; Israel, if only you would listen to me!
	9 'You shal have no strange gods, shall worship no alien god.
	10 I, Yahweh, am your God, who brought you here from Egypt, you have only to open your mouth forme to fil it.
	11 'My people would not listen to me, Israel would have none of me.
	12 So I left them to their stubborn selves, to fol ow their own devices.
	13 'If only my people would listen to me, if only Israel would walk in my ways,
	14 at one stroke I would subdue their enemies, turn my hand against their opponents.
	15 'Those who hate Yahweh would woo his favour, though their doom was sealed for ever,
	16 while I would feed him on pure wheat, would give you your fil of honey from the rock.'