Psalms — Chapter 80
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1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph. Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
2before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Rally Your mighty power and come to save us.
3Restore us, O God, and cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
4O LORD God of Hosts, how long will Your anger smolder against the prayers of Your people?
5You fed them with the bread of tears and made them drink the full measure of their tears.
6You make us contend with our neighbors; our enemies mock us.
7Restore us, O God of Hosts, and cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
8You uprooted a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and transplanted it.
9You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.
10The mountains were covered by its shade, and the mighty cedars with its branches.
11It sent out its branches to the Sea, and its shoots toward the River.
12Why have You broken down its walls, so that all who pass by pick its fruit?
13The boar from the forest ravages it, and the creatures of the field feed upon it.
14Return, O God of Hosts, we pray! Look down from heaven and see! Attend to this vine—
15the root Your right hand has planted, the son You have raised up for Yourself.
16Your vine has been cut down and burned; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
17Let Your hand be upon the man at Your right hand, on the son of man You have raised up for Yourself.
18Then we will not turn away from You; revive us, and we will call on Your name.
19Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
2Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.
3Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
4O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?
5Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.
6Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
8Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.
9Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.
10The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.
11She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.
12Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?
13The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.
14Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;
15And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
16It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
17Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
18So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.
19Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest [above] the cherubim, shine forth.
2Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up thy might, And come to save us.
3Turn us again, O God; And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
4O Jehovah God of hosts, How long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?
5Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in large measure.
6Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbors; And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7Turn us again, O God of hosts; And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
8Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt: Thou didst drive out the nations, and plantedst it.
9Thou preparedst [room] before it, And it took deep root, and filled the land.
10The mountains were covered with the shadow of it, And the boughs thereof were [like] cedars of God.
11It sent out its branches unto the sea, And its shoots unto the River.
12Why hast thou broken down its walls, So that all they that pass by the way do pluck it?
13The boar out of the wood doth ravage it, And the wild beasts of the field feed on it.
14Turn again, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: Look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine,
15And the stock which thy right hand planted, And the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
16It is burned with fire, it is cut down: They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
17Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, Upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
18So shall we not go back from thee: Quicken thou us, and we will call upon thy name.
19Turn us again, O Jehovah God of hosts; Cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Psalm 81 For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. [A Psalm] of Asaph.
1For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style; a psalm of Asaph. O Shepherd of Israel, pay attention, you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep. You who sit enthroned above the cherubim, reveal your splendor.
2In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal your power. Come and deliver us.
3O God, restore us. Smile on us. Then we will be delivered.
4O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, how long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you?
5You have given them tears as food; you have made them drink tears by the measure.
6You have made our neighbors dislike us and our enemies insult us.
7O God of Heaven’s Armies, restore us. Smile on us. Then we will be delivered.
8You uprooted a vine from Egypt; you drove out nations and transplanted it.
9You cleared the ground for it; it took root and filled the land.
10The mountains were covered by its shadow, the highest cedars by its branches.
11Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea, and its shoots the Euphrates River.
12Why did you break down its walls, so that all who pass by pluck its fruit?
13The wild boars of the forest ruin it; the insects of the field feed on it.
14O God of Heaven’s Armies, come back. Look down from heaven and take notice. Take care of this vine,
15the root your right hand planted, the shoot you made to grow.
16It is burned and cut down. May those who did this die because you are displeased with them.
17May you give support to the one you have chosen, to the one whom you raised up for yourself.
18Then we will not turn away from you. Revive us and we will pray to you.
19O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, restore us. Smile on us. Then we will be delivered.
1Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out.
2Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might! Come to save us!
3Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
4Yahweh God of Armies, How long will you be angry against the prayer of your people?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in large measure.
6You make us a source of contention to our neighbors. Our enemies laugh among themselves.
7Turn us again, God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
8You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and planted it.
9You cleared the ground for it. It took deep root, and filled the land.
10The mountains were covered with its shadow. Its boughs were like God’s cedars.
11It sent out its branches to the sea, Its shoots to the River.
12Why have you broken down its walls, so that all those who pass by the way pluck it?
13The boar out of the wood ravages it. The wild animals of the field feed on it.
14Turn again, we beg you, God of Armies. Look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vine,
15the stock which your right hand planted, the branch that you made strong for yourself.
16It’s burned with fire. It’s cut down. They perish at your rebuke.
17Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, on the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.
18So we will not turn away from you. Revive us, and we will call on your name.
19Turn us again, Yahweh God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
Summary
A communal lament addressed to God as Israel's shepherd, the psalmist pleads for him to lead his people like a flock, shine his face on them, and save them, a refrain repeated three times through the psalm (vv. 1-3, 7, 19). He laments that God has fed his people with tears and made them an object of ridicule to their neighbors (vv. 4-6). The central image is a vine that God brought out of Egypt and planted, which once filled the land and flourished but is now broken down, its hedges torn away and its branches burned (vv. 8-16). The psalm closes with a plea for God to strengthen the man at his right hand and revive his people, promising that they will never turn back from him again (vv. 17-19).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Egypt (v.8): Land to the southwest; place of Israel's bondage and exodus.
Places on this map
- EgyptEgyptA ribbon of irrigated land along the Nile, ending in the Delta where Israel settled in Goshen. Rain-fed Canaan depended on weather; Egypt depended on a river that flooded on schedule, which made it the place everyone went when the harvest failed. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Verse-by-verse commentary on this chapter, written for the everyday reader and freely available online.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of Psalms -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Tender Shepherd and Enthroned King (v.1) — The psalmist addresses God as both the Shepherd who leads Israel like a flock and the King enthroned above the cherubim. Do you relate to God with both the intimacy of a shepherd's care and the reverence due a king?
- "Restore Us" Is a Prayer God Loves to Answer (v.3) — The refrain asking God to restore His people and let His face shine repeats three times through the psalm. What area of your life needs you to keep praying "restore me" instead of giving up after one attempt?
- The Vine God Planted Can Also Be Pruned (v.12) — The nation God transplanted from Egypt and caused to flourish is now pictured with its hedges broken down. Can you trust the same God who grew you in good seasons even when He allows painful pruning in hard ones?
- Salvation Is Tied to God's Shining Face (v.19) — The psalm's closing plea ties being saved directly to God turning His face toward His people in favor. Are you seeking God's presence itself, or just the rescue you hope He'll provide?