Bible Strands
Psalms 81:11
But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks to Israel immediately after promising provision for their mouths. He addresses His people's refusal right after declaring His role as their deliverer from Egypt.
The words — The Hebrew שָׁמַע (sha.Ma') literally means "it listened," while אָבָה ('A.vah) means "it yielded" or "obeyed." These terms describe the people's deliberate refusal to heed the divine voice.
The thread — This refusal to heed the deliverer recurs in Jeremiah 7:23, where obedience is linked to covenant relationship, and Deuteronomy 32:18, which records Israel forgetting the Rock who brought them forth. Exodus 32:1 shows the immediate historical moment when the people gathered around Aaron while Moses delayed.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that willful disobedience follows divine provision. It requires readers to acknowledge that rejection of instruction precedes judicial abandonment, leaving no room for self-deception about the cost of ignoring God's word.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 7:23 but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.
- Deuteronomy 32:18 You ignored the Rock who brought you forth; you forgot the God who gave you birth.
- Exodus 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him!”
- Jeremiah 2:11 Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
- Proverbs 1:30 They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof.
- Zechariah 7:11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
- Hebrews 10:29 How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
- Psalms 106:12 Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.