Psalm 79-80
Amplified Bible
A Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.
A Psalm of Asaph.
79 O God, the nations have invaded [the land of Your people] Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your sacred temple;
They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2
They have given the dead bodies of Your servants as food to the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth.
3
They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem,
And there was no one to bury them.
4
We have become an object of taunting to our neighbors [because of our humiliation],
A derision and mockery to those who encircle us.
5
How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy [which cannot endure a divided allegiance] burn like fire?
6
Pour out Your wrath on the [Gentile] nations that do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.(A)
7
For they have devoured Jacob
And made his pasture desolate.
8
O do not remember against us the sins and guilt of our forefathers.
Let Your compassion and mercy come quickly to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.
9
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name;
Rescue us, forgive us our sins for Your name’s sake.
10
Why should the [Gentile] nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let there be known [without delay] among the nations in our sight [and to this generation],
Your vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been poured out.
11
Let the groaning and sighing of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power keep safe those who are doomed to die.
12
And return into the lap of our neighbors sevenfold
The taunts with which they have taunted You, O Lord.
13
So we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture,
Will give You thanks forever;
We will declare and publish Your praise from generation to generation.
God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.
To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Lilies, a Testimony.” A Psalm of Asaph.
80 Hear us O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who sit enthroned above the cherubim [of the ark of the covenant], shine forth!
2
Before [a]Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power
And come to save us!
3
Restore us, O God;
Cause Your face to shine on us [with favor and approval], and we will be saved.
4
O Lord God of hosts,
How long will You be angry with the prayers of Your people?
5
You have fed them the bread of tears,
And You have made them drink [bitter] tears in abundance.
6
You make us an object of contention to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh [at our suffering] among themselves.
7
Restore us, O God of hosts;
And cause Your face to shine on us [with favor and approval], and we will be saved.
8
You uprooted a vine (Israel) from Egypt;
You drove out the [Canaanite] nations and planted the vine [in Canaan].
9
You cleared away the ground before it,
And it took deep root and filled the land.
10
The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And its branches were like the cedars of God.
11
Israel sent out its branches to the [Mediterranean] Sea,
And its branches to the [Euphrates] River.(B)
12
Why have You broken down its [b]walls and hedges,
So that all who pass by pick its fruit?
13
A boar from the woods eats it away,
And the insects of the field feed on it.
14
Turn again [in favor to us], O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
15
Even the stock which Your right hand has planted,
And [look down on] the son that You have reared and strengthened for Yourself.
16
It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your [angry] appearance.
17
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You have made strong for Yourself.
18
Then we shall not turn back from You;
Revive us and we will call on Your name.
19
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine on us [in favor and approval], and we shall be saved.
Footnotes
- Psalm 80:2 It is believed that these three tribes represented all twelve tribes of Israel, Benjamin being incorporated into Judah, Manasseh inhabiting the country beyond the Jordan, and Ephraim the remainder of the land. It was natural for the Israelites to think of the three in one group, for they had camped together on the west side of the tabernacle during the years in the wilderness, and they were also the only descendants of Jacob’s wife Rachel.
- Psalm 80:12 I.e. dry-stone walls, built without mortar from loose stones in the fields.
Romans 11:1-18
Amplified Bible
Israel Is Not Cast Away
11 I say then, has God rejected and disowned His people? Certainly not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.(A) 2 God has not rejected His [chosen] people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?(B) 3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left [of the prophets], and they are seeking my life.” 4 But what is God’s response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”(C) 5 So too then, at the present time there has come to be a remnant [a small believing minority] according to God’s gracious choice. 6 But if it is by grace [God’s unmerited favor], it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace [it would not be a gift but a reward for works].
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking [that is, God’s favor by obedience to the Law], but the elect [those chosen few] obtained it, while the rest of them became hardened and callously indifferent; 8 just as it is written [in Scripture],
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear,
[a spiritual apathy that has continued] to this very day.”(D)
9 And David says,
“Let their table (abundance) become a snare and a trap,
A stumbling block and a retribution to them.(E)
10
“Let their eyes be darkened so that they do not see,
And make their backs bend [under their burden] forever.”(F)
11 So I say, have they stumbled so as to fall [to spiritual ruin]? Certainly not! But by their transgression [their rejection of the Messiah] salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous [when they realize what they have forfeited]. 12 Now if Israel’s transgression means riches for the world [at large] and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment and reinstatement be! 13 But now I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 in the hope of somehow making my fellow countrymen jealous [by stirring them up so that they will seek the truth] and perhaps save some of them. 15 For if their [present] rejection [of salvation] is for the reconciliation of the world [to God], what will their acceptance [of salvation] be but [nothing less than] life from the dead? 16 If the first portion [of dough offered as the first fruits] is holy, so is the whole batch; and if the root (Abraham, the patriarchs) is holy, so are the branches (the Israelites).(G)
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you [Gentiles], being like a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them to share with them the rich root of the olive tree, 18 do not boast over the [broken] branches and exalt yourself at their expense. If you do boast and feel superior, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root that supports you.
Read full chapterCopyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
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