Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
Parallel translations
- WEB “Hear, my people, and I will testify to you, Israel, if you would listen to me!
- BSB Hear, O My people, and I will warn you: O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!
- NKJV “Hear,O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me!
- NASB “Hear, My people, and I will admonish you; Israel, if you would listen to Me!
- NLT “Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen to me!
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 earnestly calls His people to hear His testimony and listen to Him. The heart of the psalm is a plea for attentive obedience.
Overview
God's tender 'if you would listen to me' reveals His longing for His people's faithful response. This echoes the Shema's central call to hear and obey (Deut. 6:4). The verse exposes that Israel's deepest need is not more deliverance but a listening heart, a need ultimately met by the new heart promised in the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 50:7Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.
- John 3:11Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
- Exod 15:26And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
- Isa 55:3–4Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
- 1 Jn 5:9If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
- Isa 1:19If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
- John 3:32–33And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
- Ps 81:13Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
- Deut 5:27Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.
- Acts 20:21Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Deut 32:46And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.
Resources, by level
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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 81:8 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.