Psalms 68:31

68:31 They come with red cloth ¹  from Egypt,

Ethiopia ²  voluntarily offers tribute ³  to God.

Psalms 81:5

81:5 He decreed it as a regulation in Joseph,

when he attacked the land of Egypt. ⁴ 

I heard a voice I did not recognize. ⁵ 

Psalms 81:10

81:10 I am the Lord, your God,

the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide and I will fill it!’

[68:31]  ¹ tn This noun, which occurs only here in the OT, apparently means “red cloth” or “bronze articles” (see HALOT 362 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NEB “tribute”). Traditionally the word has been taken to refer to “nobles” (see BDB 365 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NIV “envoys”). Another option would be to emend the text to הַשְׁמַנִּים (hashmannim, “the robust ones,” i.e., leaders).

[68:31]  ² tn Heb “Cush.”

[68:31]  ³ tn Heb “causes its hands to run,” which must mean “quickly stretches out its hands” (to present tribute).

[81:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “in his going out against the land of Egypt.” This apparently refers to the general time period of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. The LXX reads, “from Egypt,” in which case “Joseph” (see the preceding line) would be the subject of the verb, “when he [Joseph = Israel] left Egypt.”

[81:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “a lip I did not know, I heard.” Here the term “lip” probably stands for speech or a voice. Apparently the psalmist speaks here and refers to God’s voice, whose speech is recorded in the following verses.