Psalms 81:1
in Psalms 81Sing for joy to God our strength; make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Sing aloud unto God our strength: Make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
KJV
Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
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This verse in Psalms 81
Commentary
4 notes on this verseTo the end, for the winepresses, of Asaph. In the Law it is written that there are three solemn feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Before the Feast of Tabernacles, ten days before, there was a fast, and the fast lasted until evening. At that time they sounded the trumpets — that is, they fasted, and during the fast they sounded the trumpets — and after ten days came the Feast of Tabernacles. Attend carefully. There are three solemn feasts described in the Law: first Passover, then Pentecost, then the Feast of Tabernacles.
This site's exposition
Sing aloud unto God our strength
on Psalms 81:1-3
The Hebrew title, which this page's text does not show, reads To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph, the same Gittith heading carried by Psalms 8 and 84; the commentators read it as either an instrument brought from Gath or a tune tied to the winepress and the autumn ingathering. The call gathers the full choir of worship, timbrel, harp and psaltery together with the trumpet, into one command to sing aloud and make a joyful noise. The new moon named beside the solemn feast day points most of the bench toward the autumn festivals, the Feast of Trumpets at the new moon followed at the full moon by Tabernacles.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
We must do this by all the expressions of holy joy and triumph. It was then to be done by musical instruments, the timbrel, harp, and psaltery; and by blowing the trumpet, some think in remembrance of the sound of the trumpet on Mount Sinai, which waxed louder and louder. It was then and is now to be done by singing psalms, singing aloud, and making a joyful noise.
This, though spoken primarily of Israel of old, is written for our learning, and is therefore to be sung with application. To the chief musician upon Gittith. 1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַ֭רְנִינוּ | harninu | sing for joy | H7442 → | 54 times |
| לֵאלֹהִ֣ים | lelohim | to God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עוּזֵּ֑נוּ | ʾuzenu | strength our | H5797 → | 92 times |
| הָ֝רִ֗יעוּ | hariu | shout for joy | H7321 → | 44 times |
| לֵאלֹהֵ֥י | lelohei | to [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יַעֲקֹֽב׃ | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
הַ֭רְנִינוּsing for joy
harninuH7442 →54 times
לֵאלֹהִ֣יםto God
lelohimH430 →2601 times
עוּזֵּ֑נוּstrength our
ʾuzenuH5797 →92 times
הָ֝רִ֗יעוּshout for joy
hariuH7321 →44 times
לֵאלֹהֵ֥יto [the] God of
leloheiH430 →2601 times
יַעֲקֹֽב׃Jacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 8:1O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens.
it leads to
- Psalms 8:9
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
- Psalms 113:2–4
Blessed be the name of the LORD both now and forevermore.
- Psalms 57:5
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; may Your glory cover all the earth.
- Psalms 148:13
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
- Exodus 15:11
Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
- Psalms 8:9
Through
Psalms 66:1Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 16:23–24
Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Proclaim His salvation day after day.
- Psalms 100:1
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.
- 1 Chronicles 16:23–24
Through
Psalms 46:11The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 33:27
The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’
- Deuteronomy 33:27
About Psalms
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Jerome, Homily 13, on Psalm 80 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.