He ordained it as a testimony for Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt, where I heard an unfamiliar language:
Parallel translations
- WEB He appointed it in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out over the land of Egypt, I heard a language that I didn’t know.
- KJV This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
- NKJV This He established in Joseph as a testimony, When He went throughout the land of Egypt, Where I heard a language I did not understand.
- NASB He established it as a testimony in Joseph When he went throughout the land of Egypt. I heard a language I did not know:
- NLT He made it a law for Israel when he attacked Egypt to set us free. I heard an unknown voice say,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God established this testimony when He went out against Egypt, and a voice speaks of hearing an unfamiliar language. The feast memorializes the exodus deliverance.
Overview
The statute is tied to the exodus, when God acted to free His people from Egypt. The 'language I didn't know' likely refers either to Israel's experience of Egypt or to God's own voice now beginning to speak in the verses that follow. It transitions the psalm from celebration into God's direct address, recalling His mighty acts of salvation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 114:1When Israel departed from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
- Jer 5:15Behold, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. “It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand.
- 1 Cor 14:21–22It is written in the Law: “By strange tongues and foreign lips I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to Me, says the Lord.”
- Deut 28:49The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Isa 28:11Indeed, with mocking lips and foreign tongues, He will speak to this people
- Exod 11:4So Moses declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt,
- Exod 13:8–9And on that day you are to explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
- Ps 77:15With power You redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
- Exod 12:27you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
- Exod 12:12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
- Amos 6:6You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
- Exod 13:14–16In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Deut 4:45These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances that Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt,
- Exod 12:29Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock.
- Ps 80:1–2For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph. Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
- Ps 78:6that the coming generation would know them—even children yet to be born—to arise and tell their own children
- Ezek 20:20Keep My Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 81:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.