Psalm 81:1
New International Version
For the director of music. According to gittith. Of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!

New Living Translation
Sing praises to God, our strength. Sing to the God of Jacob.

English Standard Version
Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!

Berean Standard Bible
For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.

King James Bible
To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.

New King James Version
To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud to God our strength; Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.

New American Standard Bible
For the music director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob.

NASB 1995
For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob.

NASB 1977
Sing for joy to God our strength; Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob.

Legacy Standard Bible
For the choir director. According to the Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; Make a loud shout to the God of Jacob.

Amplified Bible
To the Chief Musician; set to the Philistine lute. A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud to God our strength; Shout for joy to the God of Jacob (Israel).

Christian Standard Bible
For the choir director: on the Gittith. Of Asaph. † Sing for joy to God our strength; shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For the choir director: on the Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.

American Standard Version
For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: Make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.

Contemporary English Version
Be happy and shout to God who makes us strong! Shout praises to the God of Jacob.

English Revised Version
For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
[For the choir director; on the [gittith]; by Asaph.] Sing joyfully to God, our strength. Shout happily to the God of Jacob.

Good News Translation
Shout for joy to God our defender; sing praise to the God of Jacob!

International Standard Version
Sing joyfully to God, our strength. Raise a shout to the God of Jacob.

Majority Standard Bible
For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.

NET Bible
For the music director; according to the gittith style; by Asaph. Shout for joy to God, our source of strength! Shout out to the God of Jacob!

New Heart English Bible
[For the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. By Asaph.] Sing aloud to God, our strength. Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.

Webster's Bible Translation
To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud to God our strength: make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.

World English Bible
For the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. By Asaph. Sing aloud to God, our strength! Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob!
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
TO THE OVERSEER. ON THE GITTITH. BY ASAPH. Cry aloud to God our strength, "" Shout to the God of Jacob.

Young's Literal Translation
To the Overseer. -- 'On the Gittith.' By Asaph. Cry aloud to God our strength, Shout to the God of Jacob.

Smith's Literal Translation
To the overseer upon the stringed instrument; to Asaph. Rejoice ye in God our strength: shout to the God of Jacob.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Unto the end, for the winepresses, a psalm for Asaph himself. Rejoice to God our helper: sing aloud to the God of Jacob.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Unto the end. For the wine and oil presses. A Psalm of Asaph himself. Exult before God our helper. Sing joyfully to the God of Jacob.

New American Bible
For the leader; “upon the gittith.” Of Asaph. [2] Sing joyfully to God our strength; raise loud shouts to the God of Jacob!

New Revised Standard Version
Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
SING aloud to God our strength; make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Praise God, our Champion, and cry to the God of Jacob!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
For the Leader; upon the Gittith. [A Psalm] of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength; Shout unto the God of Jacob.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For the end, a Psalm for Asaph, concerning the wine-presses. Rejoice ye in God our helper; shout aloud to the God of Jacob.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Sing for Joy to God, Our Strength
1For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob. 2Lift up a song, strike the tambourine, play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.…

Cross References
Exodus 15:1-2
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and rider He has thrown into the sea. / The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

Isaiah 12:5-6
Sing to the LORD, for He has done glorious things. Let this be known in all the earth. / Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”

2 Chronicles 5:13
The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the LORD with one voice. They lifted up their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments, in praise to the LORD: “For He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.” And the temple, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud

Nehemiah 12:27
At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from all their homes and brought to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing, accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.

Psalm 95:1-2
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout to the Rock of our salvation! / Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him in song.

Psalm 47:1-2
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout unto God with a voice of triumph. / How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!

Psalm 98:4-6
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth—let your cry ring out, and sing praises! / Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, in melodious song with the harp. / With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn shout for joy before the LORD, the King.

Psalm 100:1-2
A Psalm of thanksgiving. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. / Serve the LORD with gladness; come into His presence with joyful songs.

Psalm 66:1-2
For the choirmaster. A song. A Psalm. Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth! / Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious.

Psalm 149:1-3
Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song—His praise in the assembly of the godly. / Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. / Let them praise His name with dancing, and make music to Him with tambourine and harp.

Psalm 150:1-6
Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens. / Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him for His excellent greatness. / Praise Him with the sound of the horn; praise Him with the harp and lyre. ...

Isaiah 42:10-12
Sing to the LORD a new song—His praise from the ends of the earth—you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who dwell in them. / Let the desert and its cities raise their voices; let the villages of Kedar cry aloud. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops. / Let them give glory to the LORD and declare His praise in the islands.

Ephesians 5:19-20
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, / always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Hebrews 13:15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.


Treasury of Scripture

Sing aloud to God our strength: make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.

A.

Psalm 8:1
To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

A Psalm.

Sing

Psalm 67:4
O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.

Jeremiah 31:7
For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

our strength

Psalm 18:1,2
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength…

Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

Psalm 52:7
Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

make

Psalm 33:1-3
Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright…

Psalm 46:1-7
To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble…

Psalm 66:1
To the chief Musician, A Song or Psalm. Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:

the God

Psalm 46:11
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Genesis 50:17
So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

Matthew 22:32
I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

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Psalm 81
1. An exhortation to a solemn praising of God
4. God challenges that duty by reason of his benefits
8. God, exhorting to obedience, complains of their disobedience, which proves their own hurt.














Sing for joy
The phrase "Sing for joy" in Psalm 81:1 calls believers to express their worship through music and song. The Hebrew word used here is "רָנַן" (ranan), which means to shout for joy or to cry out. This expression of joy is not merely a suggestion but a command, indicating the importance of worship in the life of a believer. Historically, singing has been a central part of Jewish worship, as seen in the Temple services and various feasts. The act of singing for joy is a response to God's goodness and faithfulness, encouraging believers to lift their voices in praise and adoration.

to God our strength
The phrase "to God our strength" identifies the object of our worship and the source of our power. The Hebrew word for strength here is "עֹז" (oz), which conveys might, power, and refuge. This acknowledges God as the ultimate source of strength and protection for His people. In the historical context of Israel, God was seen as the deliverer and sustainer, providing strength in times of trouble and need. This phrase invites believers to rely on God's strength rather than their own, recognizing His sovereignty and provision in their lives.

make a joyful noise
"Make a joyful noise" is a call to exuberant and enthusiastic worship. The Hebrew word "תְּרוּעָה" (teruah) implies a loud shout or blast, often associated with the sound of a trumpet. This form of worship is not quiet or reserved but is full of energy and passion. In ancient Israel, such sounds were used in battle, celebrations, and religious ceremonies, symbolizing victory and divine intervention. For believers today, making a joyful noise is an expression of faith and confidence in God's promises and His active presence in their lives.

to the God of Jacob
The phrase "to the God of Jacob" connects the worship of God to the patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel. This reference to Jacob highlights God's covenant relationship with the people of Israel, reminding them of His faithfulness throughout generations. Jacob's life was marked by encounters with God, and his account is a testament to God's grace and transformative power. By invoking the God of Jacob, the psalmist calls believers to remember their spiritual heritage and the enduring promises of God. This phrase serves as a reminder of God's unchanging nature and His commitment to His people.

Verse 1. - Sing aloud unto God our Strength. "Loud" singing is regarded as indicative of earnestness and sincerity (see 2 Chronicles 20:19; Nehemiah 12:42; Psalm 33:3; Psalm 98:4, etc.). (On God as Israel's "Strength," see Psalm 27:1; Psalm 28:8; Psalm 46:1; Psalm 111:7.) Make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. The word translated "make a joyful noise" is especially used of the blare of trumpets (Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 29:1).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For the choirmaster.
לַמְנַצֵּ֬חַ ׀ (lam·naṣ·ṣê·aḥ)
Preposition-l, Article | Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5329: To glitter from afar, to be eminent, to be permanent

According to
עַֽל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

Gittith.
הַגִּתִּ֬ית (hag·git·tîṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1665: A musical term of uncertain meaning

Of Asaph.
לְאָסָֽף׃ (lə·’ā·sāp̄)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 623: Asaph -- 'gatherer', the name of several Israelites

Sing for joy
הַ֭רְנִינוּ (har·nî·nū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 7442: To give a ringing cry

to God
לֵאלֹהִ֣ים (lê·lō·hîm)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

our strength;
עוּזֵּ֑נוּ (‘ūz·zê·nū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common plural
Strong's 5797: Strength, might

make a joyful noise
הָ֝רִ֗יעוּ (hā·rî·‘ū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 7321: To mar, to split the ears, shout

to the God
לֵאלֹהֵ֥י (lê·lō·hê)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

of Jacob.
יַעֲקֹֽב׃ (ya·‘ă·qōḇ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3290: Jacob -- a son of Isaac, also his desc


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OT Poetry: Psalm 81:1 For the Chief Musician (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 80:19
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