Psalm 80-85
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 80[a]
Prayer to Restore God’s Vineyard
1 For the leader; according to “Lilies.” Eduth.[b] A psalm of Asaph.
I
2 O Shepherd of Israel, lend an ear,
you who guide Joseph like a flock!
Seated upon the cherubim, shine forth(A)
3 upon Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Stir up your power, and come to save us.
4 (B)O God, restore us;
light up your face and we shall be saved.
II
5 Lord of hosts,
how long will you smolder in anger
while your people pray?(C)
6 You have fed them the bread of tears,
made them drink tears in great measure.[c](D)
7 You have left us to be fought over by our neighbors;
our enemies deride us.(E)
8 O God of hosts, restore us;
light up your face and we shall be saved.
III
9 You brought a vine[d] out of Egypt;
you drove out nations and planted it.
10 You cleared out what was before it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
11 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the cedars of God by its branches.
12 It sent out its boughs as far as the sea,[e]
its shoots as far as the river.
13 Why have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?(F)
14 The boar from the forest strips the vine;
the beast of the field feeds upon it.(G)
15 Turn back again, God of hosts;
look down from heaven and see;
Visit this vine,
16 the stock your right hand has planted,
and the son[f] whom you made strong for yourself.
17 Those who would burn or cut it down—
may they perish at your rebuke.
18 May your hand be with the man on your right,[g]
with the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.
19 Then we will not withdraw from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.
20 Lord God of hosts, restore us;
light up your face and we shall be saved.
Psalm 81[h]
An Admonition to Fidelity
1 For the leader; “upon the gittith.”[i] Of Asaph.
I
2 Sing joyfully to God our strength;(H)
raise loud shouts to the God of Jacob!
3 Take up a melody, sound the timbrel,
the pleasant lyre with a harp.
4 [j]Blow the shofar at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our solemn feast.(I)
5 For this is a law for Israel,
an edict of the God of Jacob,(J)
6 He made it a decree for Joseph
when he came out of the land of Egypt.
II
7 [k]I heard a tongue I did not know:
“I removed his shoulder from the burden;[l]
his hands moved away from the basket.(K)
8 In distress you called and I rescued you;
I answered you in secret with thunder;
At the waters of Meribah[m] I tested you:(L) 9 ‘Listen, my people, I will testify against you
Selah
If only you will listen to me, Israel!(M)
10 There shall be no foreign god among you;[n](N)
you shall not bow down to an alien god.
11 ‘I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth that I may fill it.’
12 But my people did not listen to my words;
Israel would not submit to me.
13 So I thrust them away to the hardness of their heart;
‘Let them walk in their own machinations.’(O)
14 O that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways,(P)
15 In a moment I would humble their foes,
and turn back my hand against their oppressors.(Q)
16 Those who hate the Lord will try flattering him,
but their fate is fixed forever.
17 But Israel I will feed with the finest wheat,
I will satisfy them with honey from the rock.”(R)
Psalm 82[o]
The Downfall of Unjust Gods
1 A psalm of Asaph.
I
God takes a stand in the divine council,
gives judgment in the midst of the gods.(S)
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and favor the cause of the wicked?(T)
Selah
3 “Defend the lowly and fatherless;
render justice to the afflicted and needy.
4 Rescue the lowly and poor;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”(U)
II
5 [p]The gods neither know nor understand,
wandering about in darkness,
and all the world’s foundations shake.
6 I declare: “Gods though you be,[q](V)
offspring of the Most High all of you,
7 Yet like any mortal you shall die;
like any prince you shall fall.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth,[r]
for yours are all the nations.
Psalm 83[s]
Prayer Against a Hostile Alliance
1 A song; a psalm of Asaph.
I
2 God, do not be silent;
God, do not be deaf or remain unmoved!(W)
3 See how your enemies rage;
your foes proudly raise their heads.
4 They conspire against your people,
plot against those you protect.(X)
5 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let Israel’s name be remembered no more!”
6 They scheme with one mind,
they have entered into a covenant against you:(Y)
7 [t]The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,(Z)
8 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,(AA)
Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.(AB)
9 Assyria, too, in league with them,
backs the descendants of Lot.
Selah
II
10 [u]Deal with them as with Midian;
as with Sisera and Jabin at the wadi Kishon,(AC)
11 Those destroyed at Endor,
who became dung for the ground.(AD)
12 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
13 Who made a plan together,
“Let us take for ourselves the pastures of God.”
14 My God, make them like tumbleweed,
into chaff flying before the wind.(AE)
15 As a fire raging through a forest,
a flame setting mountains ablaze,(AF)
16 Pursue them with your tempest;
terrify them with your storm-wind.
17 Cover their faces with shame,
till they seek your name,[v] Lord.
18 Let them be ashamed and terrified forever;
let them perish in disgrace.
19 Let them know that your name is Lord,
you alone are the Most High over all the earth.(AG)
Psalm 84[w]
Prayer of a Pilgrim to Jerusalem
1 For the leader; “upon the gittith.” A psalm of the Korahites.
I
2 How lovely your dwelling,
O Lord of hosts!(AH)
3 My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the Lord.(AI)
My heart and flesh cry out
for the living God.
4 [x]As the sparrow finds a home
and the swallow a nest to settle her young,
My home is by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God!(AJ)
5 Blessed are those who dwell in your house!
They never cease to praise you.
Selah
II
6 Blessed the man who finds refuge in you,
in their hearts are pilgrim roads.
7 As they pass through the Baca valley,[y]
they find spring water to drink.
The early rain covers it with blessings.
8 They will go from strength to strength[z]
and see the God of gods on Zion.
III
9 Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Jacob.
Selah
10 [aa]O God, watch over our shield;
look upon the face of your anointed.(AK)
IV
11 Better one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere.
Better the threshold of the house of my God
than a home in the tents of the wicked.
12 For a sun and shield is the Lord God,
bestowing all grace and glory.
The Lord withholds no good thing
from those who walk without reproach.
13 O Lord of hosts,
blessed the man who trusts in you!
Psalm 85[ab]
Prayer for Divine Favor
1 For the leader. A psalm of the Korahites.
I
2 You once favored, Lord, your land,
restored the captives of Jacob.(AL)
3 You forgave the guilt of your people,
pardoned all their sins.
Selah
4 You withdrew all your wrath,
turned back from your burning anger.(AM)
II
5 Restore us, God of our salvation;
let go of your displeasure with us.(AN)
6 Will you be angry with us forever,
prolong your anger for all generations?(AO)
7 Certainly you will again restore our life,
that your people may rejoice in you.
8 Show us, Lord, your mercy;
grant us your salvation.
III
9 [ac]I will listen for what God, the Lord, has to say;
surely he will speak of peace
To his people and to his faithful.
May they not turn to foolishness!
10 Near indeed is his salvation for those who fear him;
glory will dwell in our land.
11 [ad]Love and truth will meet;
justice and peace will kiss.(AP)
12 Truth will spring from the earth;
justice will look down from heaven.(AQ)
13 Yes, the Lord will grant his bounty;
our land will yield its produce.(AR)
14 Justice will march before him,
and make a way for his footsteps.
Footnotes
- Psalm 80 A community lament in time of military defeat. Using the familiar image of Israel as a vineyard, the people complain that God has broken down the wall protecting the once splendid vine brought from Egypt (Ps 80:9–14). They pray that God will again turn to them and use the Davidic king to lead them to victory (Ps 80:15–19).
- 80:1 Lilies…. Eduth: the first term is probably the title of the melody to which the Psalm was to be sung; the second is unexplained.
- 80:6 Both the Septuagint and the Vulgate translate this verse in the first person, i.e., “You have fed us the bread of tears.”
- 80:9 A vine: a frequent metaphor for Israel, cf. Is 5:1–7; 27:2–5; Jer 2:21; Hos 10:1; Mt 21:33.
- 80:12 The sea: the Mediterranean. The river: the Euphrates, cf. Gn 15:18; 1 Kgs 5:1. The terms may also have a mythic nuance—the seas that surround the earth; sea and river are sometimes paralleled in poetry.
- 80:16 The Vulgate and Septuagint use “son of man.”
- 80:18 The man on your right: the Davidic king who will lead the army in battle.
- Psalm 81 At a pilgrimage feast, probably harvest in the fall, the people assemble in the Temple in accord with the Sinai ordinances (Ps 81:2–6). They hear a divine word (mediated by a Temple speaker) telling how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt (Ps 81:7–9), gave them the fundamental commandment of fidelity (Ps 81:9–11), which would bring punishment if they refused to obey (Ps 81:12–13). But if Israel repents, God will be with them once again, bestowing protection and fertility (Ps 81:14–16).
- 81:1 Upon the gittith: probably the title of the melody to which the Psalm was to be sung or a musical instrument.
- 81:4 New moon…full moon: the pilgrimage feast of harvest began with a great assembly (Lv 23:24; Nm 29:1), used the new moon as a sign (Nm 29:6), and included trumpets (Lv 23:24).
- 81:7 I heard a tongue I did not know: a Temple official speaks the word of God (Ps 81:5b–16), which is authoritative and unlike merely human words (cf. Nm 24:4, 16).
- 81:7 I removed his shoulder from the burden: A reference to the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The basket: for carrying clay to make bricks, cf. Ex 1:14.
- 81:8 Meribah: place of rebellion in the wilderness; cf. Ex 17:7; Nm 20:13.
- 81:10 There shall be no foreign god among you: as in Ps 50 and 95, Israel is challenged to obey the first commandment of fidelity to God after the proclamation of the exodus.
- Psalm 82 As in Ps 58, the pagan gods are seen as subordinate divine beings to whom Israel’s God had delegated oversight of the foreign countries in the beginning (Dt 32:8–9). Now God arises in the heavenly assembly (Ps 82:1) to rebuke the unjust “gods” (Ps 82:2–4), who are stripped of divine status and reduced in rank to mortals (Ps 82:5–7). They are accused of misruling the earth by not upholding the poor. A short prayer for universal justice concludes the Psalm (Ps 82:8).
- 82:5 The gods are blind and unable to declare what is right. Their misrule shakes earth’s foundations (cf. Ps 11:3; 75:4), which God made firm in creation (Ps 96:10).
- 82:6 I declare: “Gods though you be”: in Jn 10:34 Jesus uses the verse to prove that those to whom the word of God is addressed can fittingly be called “gods.”
- 82:8 Judge the earth: according to Dt 32:8–9, Israel’s God had originally assigned jurisdiction over the foreign nations to the subordinate deities, keeping Israel as a personal possession. Now God will directly take over the rulership of the whole world.
- Psalm 83 The community lament complains to God of the nations’ attempts to wipe out the name of Israel (Ps 83:1–8). The psalmist sees all Israel’s enemies throughout its history united in a conspiracy (Ps 83:2–8). May God destroy the current crop of enemies as the enemies of old were destroyed (Ps 83:9–12), and may they be pursued until they acknowledge the name of Israel’s God (Ps 83:13–18).
- 83:7–9 Apart from the Assyrians, all the nations listed here were neighbors of Israel. The Hagrites are a tribe of the desert regions east of Ammon and Moab (1 Chr 5:10, 19–22). Gebal is the Phoenician city of Byblos or perhaps a mountain region south of the Dead Sea. The descendants of Lot are Moab and Edom (Gn 19:36–38 and Dt 2:9). These nations were never united against Israel in the same period; the Psalm has lumped them all together.
- 83:10–13 For the historical events, see Jgs 4–8.
- 83:17 Seek your name: a variant of the more typical phrase “to seek the face of God” (Ps 24:6; 27:8; 105:4). Seeking the face of God refers to the worshiper having recourse to a temple or sanctuary where in non-Jewish contexts a statue embodies the physical presence of the Deity. In Israel’s aniconic tradition no visible image or statue can represent God. This understanding is conveyed here concretely by use of the term “your name” rather than the more typical “your face.”
- Psalm 84 Israelites celebrated three pilgrimage feasts in Jerusalem annually. The Psalm expresses the sentiments of the pilgrims eager to enjoy the divine presence.
- 84:4 The desire of a restless bird for a secure home is an image of the desire of a pilgrim for the secure house of God, cf. Ps 42:2–3, where the image for the desire of the pilgrim is the thirst of the deer for water.
- 84:7 Baca valley: Hebrew obscure; probably a valley on the way to Jerusalem.
- 84:8 Strength to strength: pass through outer and inner wall.
- 84:10 Our shield…your anointed: the king had a role in the liturgical celebration. For the king as shield, cf. Ps 89:19.
- Psalm 85 A national lament reminding God of past favors and forgiveness (Ps 85:2–4) and begging for forgiveness and grace now (Ps 85:5–8). A speaker represents the people who wait humbly with open hearts (Ps 85:9–10): God will be active on their behalf (Ps 85:11–13). The situation suggests the conditions of Judea during the early postexilic period, the fifth century B.C.; the thoughts are similar to those of postexilic prophets (Hg 1:5–11; 2:6–9).
- 85:9 The prophet listens to God’s revelation, cf. Hb 2:1.
- 85:11–13 Divine activity is personified as pairs of virtues.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.