The Meaning of Psalms 81:12 Explained

Psalms 81:12

KJV: So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

YLT: And I send them away in the enmity of their heart, They walk in their own counsels.

Darby: So I gave them up unto their own hearts' stubbornness: they walked after their own counsels.

ASV: So I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart, That they might walk in their own counsels.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So I gave them up  unto their own hearts'  lust:  [and] they walked  in their own counsels. 

What does Psalms 81:12 Mean?

Study Notes

So I gave
See, Acts 7:42 ; Acts 14:16 ; Romans 1:24 ; Romans 1:26 .

Context Summary

Psalms 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: Psalms 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 81:12 mean?

So I gave them over to stubborn their own heart to walk in their own counsels
וָֽ֭אֲשַׁלְּחֵהוּ בִּשְׁרִיר֣וּת לִבָּ֑ם יֵ֝לְכ֗וּ בְּֽמוֹעֲצוֹתֵיהֶֽם

וָֽ֭אֲשַׁלְּחֵהוּ  So  I  gave  them  over 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
בִּשְׁרִיר֣וּת  to  stubborn 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שְׁרִרוּת  
Sense: stubbornness, hardness, firmness.
לִבָּ֑ם  their  own  heart 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
יֵ֝לְכ֗וּ  to  walk 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
בְּֽמוֹעֲצוֹתֵיהֶֽם  in  their  own  counsels 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מֹועֵצָה  
Sense: counsel, plan, principal, device.