Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 81:9

There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.

9. no strange god ] Cp. Psa 44:20; Deu 32:16.

any strange god ] Any alien god. Cp. Deu 32:12. Absolute frdelity to Jehovah was the fundamental principle of the Sinaitic covenant, embodied in the first ‘word’ of the Decalogue.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

There shall no strange god be in thee – Worshipped by thee; or recognized and regarded as a god. This was a condition of his favor and friendship. Compare Deu 32:12; Isa 43:12. The word here rendered strange – zar – has reference to one of a foreign nation; and the meaning is, that they were not to worship or adore the gods that were worshipped by foreigners. This was a fundamental law of the Hebrew commonwealth.

Neither shalt thou worship any strange god – The Hebrew word here is different – nekar – but means substantially the same thing. The allusion is to gods worshipped by foreign nations.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Thou shalt renounce all false gods and worship, and worship me only.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

There shall no strange god be in thee,…. Or in the midst of thee, owned and worshipped as God; or in thine heart, for whatever engrosses the affection, or a man puts his trust and confidence in, that he makes his god, and is a strange one: thus, if any friend or relation, father or mother, wife or children, are loved more than God, they are set up as such in his place; thus the epicure, that seeks the gratification of his carnal lusts, makes his belly his god; and the covetous man his money, in which he trusts, and therefore is called an idolater; and the self-righteous man his righteousness, on which he depends for salvation: hence we read of idols set up in the heart, from which they are disengaged in conversion, and kept from,

Eze 14:7

neither shall thou worship any strange god; only the Lord God is to be worshipped, Mt 28:19 and there is but one God; though this is to be understood not to the exclusion of the Son and Spirit, who are with the Father the one God, and to be worshipped equally with him, and are; see Mt 28:19.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

9 Let there be no strange god (414) in thee. Here there is propounded the leading article of the covenant, and almost the whole sum of it, which is, that God alone must have the pre-eminence. Some may prefer this explanation: O Israel! if thou wilt hearken to me, there is nothing which I more strictly require or demand from thee than that thou shouldst be contented with me alone, and that thou shouldst not seek after strange gods: and of this opinion I am far from disapproving. God by this language undoubtedly confirms the truth which he so frequently inculcates elsewhere in the law and the prophets, that he is so jealous a God as not to allow another to be a partaker of the honor to which he alone is entitled. But at the same time he teaches us that true religious worship begins with obedience. The order which Moses observes is different, Exo 20:2, and Deu 5:6. In these passages God sets out with declaring that he is the God of Israel; and then he forbids them to make for themselves any new gods. But here the prohibition is put first, and then the reason of it is subjoined, which is, that the people ought to be abundantly satisfied with the God who had purchased them to be his people. Perhaps also he sets this in the front to prepare the way for his obtaining the throne of their hearts. He would first withdraw the people from superstitions, as these must necessarily be plucked up and cleared away before true religion can take root in our hearts.

(414) “Heathen, or foreign god.” — Hammond.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(9) Open . . .A condensed statement of Gods gracious promise (Deu. 7:12-13; Deu. 8:7; Deu. 8:9; Deu. 11:13; Deu. 11:16, &c). It is said to have been a custom in Persia, that when the king wishes to do a visitor especial honour he desires him to open his mouth wide, and the king then-crams it full of sweetmeats, and sometimes even with jewels. And to this day it is a mark of politeness in Orientals to tear off the daintiest bits of meat for a guest, and either lay them before him, or put them in his mouth. (See Thomson, Land and Book, p. 127.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

9. No strange god Thus the psalmist strikes the fundamental doctrine of their dispensation. It has the Sinaitic ring of Exo 20:1-7. This had been, before the exile, their point of departure from the religion of Moses. After that date they never fell into formal idolatry; but their after national sin was ritualism and indifference.

Worship The same word as “bow down.” Exo 20:5

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments