Discovery BoxPsalms 81:8-10 
Context81:8 I said, 1 ‘Listen, my people!
I will warn 2 you!
O Israel, if only you would obey me! 3
81:9 There must be 4 no other 5 god among you.
You must not worship a foreign god.
81:10 I am the Lord, your God,
the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it!’
1 tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Verses 8-10 appear to recall what the
2 tn Or perhaps “command.”
3 tn The Hebrew particle אִם (“if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (GKC 321 §109.b). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.
4 tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 have a modal function, expressing what is obligatory.
5 tn Heb “different”; “illicit.”
