Why read Psalm 81?
Read Psalm 81 to pray for justice and the defense of vulnerable people. It challenges corrupt judges and calls for protection of the poor, orphans and those without support.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
“God stood in the divine assembly...” — this is how Psalm 81 begins, a work of 8 verses from the 11th Kathisma. The Psalter is read in the Orthodox Church at every service, and this psalm has its place in the order of prayer.
The text of Psalm 81
1. God stood in the divine assembly and will judge in the midst of the gods.
2. How long will you judge unjustly and look favourably upon the faces of sinners?
3. Judge the orphan and the poor justly, and give justice to the humble, to the needy.
4. Save the needy and the poor; deliver them from the hand of the sinner.
5. But they did not know or understand, and walk in darkness; all the orders of the earth will be disrupted.
6. I said: “You are gods and all sons of the Most High.”
7. But you die like human beings and fall like one of the rulers.
8. Arise, O God, judge the earth, for all nations are Yours.
When Psalm 81 is read
- It belongs to the 11th Kathisma and is recited in personal prayer, especially for peace and understanding.
- At the end of each psalm, tradition adds: «Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.».
Adjacent psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
