Psalm 80

A Prayer for Restoration

For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.”[a] A testimony of Asaph.(A) A psalm.

Listen, Shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock;(B)
You who sit enthroned on the cherubim,(C)
rise up(D)
before Ephraim,
Benjamin, and Manasseh.[b](E)
Rally Your power and come to save us.(F)
Restore us, God;
look on us with favor,
and we will be saved.(G)

Lord God of Hosts,
how long will You be angry
with Your people’s prayers?(H)
You fed them the bread of tears
and gave them a full measure[c]
of tears to drink.(I)
You make us quarrel with our neighbors;
our enemies make fun of us.(J)
Restore us, God of Hosts;
look on us with favor, and we will be saved.(K)

You uprooted a vine from Egypt;
You drove out the nations and planted it.(L)
You cleared a place for it;
it took root and filled the land.(M)
10 The mountains were covered by its shade,
and the mighty cedars[d] with its branches.(N)
11 It sent out sprouts toward the Sea[e]
and shoots toward the River.[f](O)

12 Why have You broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its fruit?(P)
13 The boar from the forest tears it
and creatures of the field feed on it.(Q)
14 Return, God of Hosts.(R)
Look down from heaven and see;
take care of this vine,
15 the root[g] Your right hand has planted,
the shoot[h] that You made strong for Yourself.(S)
16 It was cut down and burned up;[i]
they[j] perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.(T)
17 Let Your hand be with the man at Your right hand,
with the son of man
You have made strong for Yourself.(U)
18 Then we will not turn away from You;
revive us, and we will call on Your name.(V)
19 Restore us, Yahweh, the God of Hosts;(W)
look on us with favor, and we will be saved.(X)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 80:1 Possibly a tune; Pss 45; 60; 69
  2. Psalm 80:2 This is the marching order for the camp of Israel.
  3. Psalm 80:5 Lit a one-third measure
  4. Psalm 80:10 Lit the cedars of God
  5. Psalm 80:11 = the Mediterranean
  6. Psalm 80:11 = the Euphrates
  7. Psalm 80:15 Hb obscure
  8. Psalm 80:15 Or son
  9. Psalm 80:16 Lit burned with fire
  10. Psalm 80:16 Or may they

Psalm 80

For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph, to be sung to the tune “Lilies of the Covenant.”

Please listen, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph’s descendants like a flock.
O God, enthroned above the cherubim,
    display your radiant glory
    to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Show us your mighty power.
    Come to rescue us!

Turn us again to yourself, O God.
    Make your face shine down upon us.
    Only then will we be saved.
O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,
    how long will you be angry with our prayers?
You have fed us with sorrow
    and made us drink tears by the bucketful.
You have made us the scorn[a] of neighboring nations.
    Our enemies treat us as a joke.

Turn us again to yourself, O God of Heaven’s Armies.
    Make your face shine down upon us.
    Only then will we be saved.
You brought us from Egypt like a grapevine;
    you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land.
You cleared the ground for us,
    and we took root and filled the land.
10 Our shade covered the mountains;
    our branches covered the mighty cedars.
11 We spread our branches west to the Mediterranean Sea;
    our shoots spread east to the Euphrates River.[b]
12 But now, why have you broken down our walls
    so that all who pass by may steal our fruit?
13 The wild boar from the forest devours it,
    and the wild animals feed on it.

14 Come back, we beg you, O God of Heaven’s Armies.
    Look down from heaven and see our plight.
Take care of this grapevine
15     that you yourself have planted,
    this son you have raised for yourself.
16 For we are chopped up and burned by our enemies.
    May they perish at the sight of your frown.
17 Strengthen the man you love,
    the son of your choice.
18 Then we will never abandon you again.
    Revive us so we can call on your name once more.

19 Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
    Make your face shine down upon us.
    Only then will we be saved.

Footnotes

  1. 80:6 As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads the strife.
  2. 80:11 Hebrew west to the sea, . . . east to the river.