Psalms 81:1-4

Psalm 81 ¹ 

For the music director; according to the gittith style; ²  by Asaph.

81:1 Shout for joy to God, our source of strength!

Shout out to the God of Jacob!

81:2 Sing ³  a song and play the tambourine,

the pleasant sounding harp, and the ten-stringed instrument!

81:3 Sound the ram’s horn on the day of the new moon, ⁴ 

and on the day of the full moon when our festival begins. ⁵ 

81:4 For observing the festival is a requirement for Israel; ⁶ 

it is an ordinance given by the God of Jacob.

Mark 14:26

14:26 After singing a hymn, ⁷  they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Ephesians 5:19-20

5:19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music ⁸  in ⁹  your hearts to the Lord, 5:20 always giving thanks to God the Father for each other ¹⁰  in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Colossians 3:16-17

3:16 Let the word of Christ ¹¹  dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace ¹²  in your hearts to God. 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

[81:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 81. The psalmist calls God’s people to assemble for a festival and then proclaims God’s message to them. The divine speech (vv. 6-16) recalls how God delivered the people from Egypt, reminds Israel of their rebellious past, expresses God’s desire for his people to obey him, and promises divine protection in exchange for obedience.

[81:1]  ² tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument. See the superscription to Ps 8.

[81:2]  ³ tn Heb “lift up.”

[81:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “at the new moon.”

[81:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “at the full moon on the day of our festival.” The Hebrew word כֶּסֶה (keseh) is an alternate spelling of כֶּסֶא (kese’, “full moon”).

[81:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “because a statute for Israel [is] it.”

[14:26]  ⁷ sn After singing a hymn. The Hallel Psalms (Pss 113-118) were sung during the meal. Psalms 113 and 114 were sung just before the second cup and 115-118 were sung at the end of the meal, after the fourth, or hallel cup.

[5:19]  ⁸ tn See BDAG 1096 s.v. ψάλλω.

[5:19]  ⁹ tn Or “with.”

[5:20]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “for all.” The form “all” can be either neuter or masculine.

[3:16]  ¹¹ tc Since “the word of Christ” occurs nowhere else in the NT, two predictable variants arose: “word of God” and “word of the Lord.” Even though some of the witnesses for these variants are impressive (κυρίου [kuriou, “of the Lord”] in א* I 1175 pc bo; θεοῦ [qeou, “of God”] in A C* 33 104 323 945 al), the reading Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “of Christ”) is read by an excellent cross-section of witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א² B C² D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï lat sa). On both internal and external grounds, Χριστοῦ is strongly preferred.

[3:16]  ¹² tn Grk “with grace”; “all” is supplied as it is implicitly related to all the previous instructions in the verse.