Mazmur 81:13-14

81:13 If only my people would obey me! ¹ 

If only Israel would keep my commands! ² 

81:14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,

and attack ³  their adversaries.”

[81:13]  ¹ tn Heb “if only my people were listening to me.” The Hebrew particle לוּ (lu, “if not”) introduces a purely hypothetical or contrary to fact condition (see 2 Sam 18:12).

[81:13]  ² tn Heb “[and if only] Israel would walk in my ways.”

[81:14]  ³ tn Heb “turn my hand against.” The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack” (see Isa 1:25; Ezek 38:12; Amos 1:8; Zech 13:7).