Psalms 81 · Verse 13

Psalms 81:13

Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
Psalms 81:13, King James Version

Psalms 81:13 in other translations

BSBIf only My people would listen to Me, if Israel would follow My ways,
WEBOh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
ASVOh that my people would hearken unto me, That Israel would walk in my ways!
YLTO that My people were hearkening to Me, Israel in My ways would walk.
DARBYOh that my people had hearkened unto me, that Israel had walked in my ways!
BBEIf only my people would give ear to me, walking in my ways!
WebsterO that my people had hearkened to me, and Israel had walked in my ways!

What does Psalms 81:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 81:13-16
13-16. Obedience would have secured all promised blessings and the subjection of foes. In this passage, "should have," "would have," &c., are better, "should" and "would" expressing God's intention at the time, that is, when they left Egypt.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 O that my people had hearkened unto me, - Israel had walked in my ways - Nothing can be more plaintive than the original; sense and sound are surprisingly united. I scruple not to say to him who understands the Hebrew, however learned, he has never found in any poet, Greek or Latin, a finer example of deep-seated grief, unable to express itself in appropriate words without frequent interruptions of sighs and sobs, terminated with a mournful cry. yl (m# ym( wl ישראי בדרכי יהלכו Lo ammi shomea li Yishrael bidrachi yehallechu! He who can give the proper guttural pronunciation to the letter ע ain; and gives the ו vau, and the י yod, their full Asiatic sound, not pinching them to death by a compressed and worthless European enunciation; will at once be convinced of the propriety of this remark.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 81:8-16

We cannot look for too little from the creature, nor too much from the Creator. We may have enough from God, if we pray for it in faith. All the wickedness of the world is owing to man's wilfulness. People are not religious, because they will not be so. God is not the Author of their sin, he leaves them to the lusts of their own hearts, and the counsels of their own heads; if they do not well, the blame must be upon…

Read the full comment on Psalms 81:8-16 →

Psalms 81:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ל֗וּLuifH3863
עַ֭מִּי'A.mipeople myH5971
שֹׁמֵ֣עַֽsho.Me.a'[will be] listeningH8085
לִ֑יLito me
יִ֝שְׂרָאֵ֗לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
בִּדְרָכַ֥יbid.ra.Khaiin ways myH1870
יְהַלֵּֽכוּ\׃ye.ha.Le.khuthey will walkH1980

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 81:13

  • Deuteronomy 5:29

    O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

  • Isaiah 48:18

    O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:

  • Deuteronomy 10:12-13

    And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

  • Luke 19:41-42

    And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

  • Matthew 23:37

    O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Oh that.
De 5:29; 10:12,13; 32:29; Isa 48:18; Mt 23:37; Lu 19:41,42

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Psalms 81:12

    So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

  • Psalms 81:13

    Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!

  • Psalms 81:14

    I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.

Read all of Psalms 81

Psalms 81:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¡Oh, si me hubiera oído mi pueblo, si en mis caminos hubiera Israel andado!
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Alors je les ai abandonnés à l’obstination de leur cœur: ils ont marché selon leurs conseils.
German
Elberfelder 1871		O daß mein Volk auf mich gehört, daß Israel in meinen Wegen gewandelt hätte!