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Psalm 81:15
The haters of the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
13Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
14I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their adversaries.
15The haters of the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
16But he would have also fed them with the finest of the wheat. I will satisfy you with honey out of the rock.”
Notice
The word “forever” makes this warning severe: those who hate YHWH would cringe before him, facing punishment that the verse describes as having no end.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What do you find hardest to reckon with in the words “their punishment would last forever”?
Write on thisHow does God’s desire for Israel to listen shape your reading of this warning about their enemies?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 66:3Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds! Through the greatness of your power, your enemies submit themselves to you.Both passages describe God’s enemies yielding before him, with Psalm 66 naming the greatness of his power as the cause.
Deuteronomy 7:10and repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack to him who hates him. He will repay him to his face.Both passages speak of those who hate God and the punishment he brings upon them.
Psalm 18:44As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me. The foreigners shall submit themselves to me.Both describe submission, though Psalm 81 concerns the LORD’s haters and Psalm 18 concerns foreigners submitting to the speaker.
Exodus 20:5you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on …Both passages connect hatred of the LORD with judgment, though Exodus speaks of generations and Psalm 81 speaks of punishment lasting forever.
2 Samuel 22:45The foreigners will submit themselves to me. As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me.Both describe submission, though Samuel’s verse concerns foreigners obeying the speaker and Psalm 81 concerns the LORD’s haters cringing before him.
Psalm 83:2For, behold, your enemies are stirred up. Those who hate you have lifted up their heads.Both name people who hate God; Psalm 83 describes their raised heads, while Psalm 81 describes them cringing before him.
Romans 1:30backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,Psalm 81 names haters of the LORD, while Romans includes “hateful to God” within its description of wrongdoing.
Psalm 63:3Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you.The connection is a contrast in responses to God: Psalm 81 describes hatred, while Psalm 63 speaks praise for his loving kindness.
Romans 8:7because the mind of the flesh is hostile toward God, for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be.Both texts name hostility toward God, with Romans describing the mind of the flesh as refusing subjection to God’s law.
2 Timothy 1:5having been reminded of the sincere faith that is in you, which lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, in you also.The connection is limited to contrasting responses to God: hatred in Psalm 81 and sincere faith in Timothy and his family.
Joel 3:20But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.Both use “forever,” though Psalm 81 describes lasting punishment and Joel describes Judah remaining inhabited.
Luke 20:20They watched him and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and …The link is limited: Psalm 81 describes hatred of the LORD; Luke describes spies seeking to trap Jesus and hand him over.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Judgment here belongs to YHWH. The warning is severe: Israel’s enemies would be subdued by his hand, and those who hate him would face punishment without end.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 81:15. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).