Psalm 81

1  Sing merrily to God our strength, •
   shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
2  Take up the song and sound the timbrel, •
   the tuneful lyre with the harp.
3  Blow the trumpet at the new moon, •
   as at the full moon, upon our solemn feast day.
4  For this is a statute for Israel, •
   a law of the God of Jacob,
5  The charge he laid on the people of Joseph, •
   when they came out of the land of Egypt.
6  I heard a voice I did not know, that said: •
   ‘I eased their shoulder from the burden;
      their hands were set free from bearing the load.
7  ‘You called upon me in trouble and I delivered you; •
   I answered you from the secret place of thunder
      and proved you at the waters of Meribah.
8  ‘Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you: •
   O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9  ‘There shall be no strange god among you; •
   you shall not worship a foreign god.
10  ‘I am the Lord your God,
      who brought you up from the land of Egypt; •
   open your mouth wide and I shall fill it.’