Psalms 81:3-5

81:3 Sound the ram’s horn on the day of the new moon, ¹ 

and on the day of the full moon when our festival begins. ² 

81:4 For observing the festival is a requirement for Israel; ³ 

it is an ordinance given by the God of Jacob.

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 

[81:3]  ¹ tn Heb “at the new moon.”

[81:3]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “because a statute for Israel [is] it.”

[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.