God’s Word Translation
Psalms 81:2
2Begin a psalm, and strike a tambourine. Play lyres and harps with their pleasant music.
Psalms 81:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
- New International Version (NIV)Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Raise a song and strike the timbrel, The pleasant harp with the lute.
Context of Psalms 81:2
1Sing joyfully to God, our strength. Shout happily to the God of Jacob. Begin a psalm, and strike a tambourine. Play lyres and harps with their pleasant music. 3Blow the ram’s horn on the day of the new moon, on the day of the full moon, on our festival days. 4This is a law for Israel, a legal decision from the God of Jacob.
Read all of Psalms 81Psalms 81:2 word by word
שְֽׂאוּ־זִ֭מְרָה וּתְנוּ־תֹ֑ף כִּנּ֖וֹר נָעִ֣ים עִם־נָֽבֶל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 81:2
- Psalms 92:3on a ten-stringed instrument and a harp and with a melody on a lyre.
- Psalms 95:1Come, let’s sing joyfully to the Lord. Let’s shout happily to the rock of our salvation.
- Psalms 149:1Hallelujah! Sing a new song to the Lord. Sing his praise in the assembly of godly people.
- Mark 14:26After they sang a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives.
- Ephesians 5:19by reciting psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs for your own good. Sing and make music to the Lord with your hearts.
- Colossians 3:16Let Christ’s word with all its wisdom and richness live in you. Use psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to teach and instruct yourselves about ⌞God’s⌟ kindness. Sing to God in your hearts.
- James 5:13If any of you are having trouble, pray. If you are happy, sing psalms.
Commentaries on Psalms 81:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Take a psalm - זמרה zimrah . I rather think that this was the name of a musical instrument. Bring hither the timbrel - תף toph ; some kind of drum or tom tom. The pleasant harp - כנור kinnor . Probably a sistrum, or something like it. A Stringed instrument. With the psaltery - נבל nebel, the nabla . The cithara, Septuagint.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Take a psalm - literally, “Lift up a psalm; perhaps, as we should say, “Raise the tune.” Or, it may mean, Take an ode, a hymn, a psalm, composed for the occasion, and accompany it with the instruments of music which are specified. And bring hither the timbrel - For the purpose of praise. On the meaning of this word rendered “timbrel” - תף tôph - see the notes at Isaiah 5:12. The pleasant harp - On the word here rendered “harp” - כנור kinnôr - see also…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2An Israelite tambourine was a hand drum with a round frame and skin cover. People used it as a percussion instrument during celebrations, often to accompany dancing (Psalms 68:25; 149:3; 150:4). The sweet-sounding harp and lyre, both stringed instruments, are the most frequently mentioned instruments in the psalms (for example, Psalms 33:2; 57:8; 71:22; 150:3).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. unites the most joyful kinds of music, vocal and instrumental.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 81:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 81
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries