The Meaning of Psalms 81:15 Explained

Psalms 81:15

KJV: The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.

YLT: Those hating Jehovah feign obedience to Him, But their time is -- to the age.

Darby: The haters of Jehovah would have come cringing unto him; but their time would have been for ever.

ASV: The haters of Jehovah should submit themselves unto him: But their time should endure for ever.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The haters  of the LORD  should have submitted  themselves unto him: but their time  should have endured for ever. 

What does Psalms 81:15 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 81:8-16 - "if Thou Wouldest Hearken Unto Me"
God wants our emptiness, which seems to Him like the gaping beak of the young fledgling, Psalms 81:10. Give me room! is his incessant appeal. It must be the wonder of eternity, and it will certainly be our regret when we come to review our life, that we have asked so little. Give me room! cries the river, as it comes with a rush to the plains. Give me room! cries the wind, as it searches into the narrow courts and alleys of the slums. Give me room! says the Spirit of God, as He breathes around the house of our heart, seeking by any tiny crack to enter.
In the closing Psalms 81:13-16, we have an enumeration of all the blessings which would be ours, if only we would open our mouths wide. God would constitute Himself as our champion in subduing our enemies-the temptations from without and the inward warrings of selfishness and passion. He would give us unbroken and enduring blessedness. He would allow us to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood, which are meat and drink indeed. He would surely satisfy us with the sweet honey of His love. Let us begin to claim these benefits! [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 81

1  An exhortation to a solemn praising of God
4  God challenges that duty by reason of his benefits
8  God, exhorting to obedience, complains of their disobedience, which proves their own hurt

What do the individual words in Psalms 81:15 mean?

The haters of Yahweh would pretend submission to Him but would endure their fate forever
מְשַׂנְאֵ֣י יְ֭הוָה יְכַֽחֲשׁוּ־ ל֑וֹ וִיהִ֖י עִתָּ֣ם לְעוֹלָֽם

מְשַׂנְאֵ֣י  The  haters 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: שָׂנֵא  
Sense: to hate, be hateful.
יְ֭הוָה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
יְכַֽחֲשׁוּ־  would  pretend  submission 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: כָּחַשׁ  
Sense: to deceive, lie, fail, grow lean, be disappointing, be untrue, be insufficient, be found liars, belie, deny, dissemble, deal falsely.
ל֑וֹ  to  Him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
וִיהִ֖י  but  would  endure 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Jussive, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
עִתָּ֣ם  their  fate 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: עֵת  
Sense: time.
לְעוֹלָֽם  forever 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.