Beginning
Asaph wrote this psalm for the music leader. He should use special music.
God, help our nation[a]
80 Shepherd of Israel, listen to us!
You lead us, Joseph's family,
as your sheep.[b]
God, you sit on your throne as king,
above the cherubs.[c]
Show everyone your bright glory!
2 Shine on Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Show your great power!
Come and rescue us!
3 God, turn us to come back to you.
Look at us with a smile on your face!
Then we will be safe.
4 Lord God Almighty,
we, your people, are praying to you.
How long will you continue to be angry with us?
5 You have caused us to eat tears as our food.
Buckets full of tears is what we drink.
6 You have caused the people who live near us
to laugh at us.
Our enemies insult us.
7 God Almighty, turn us to come back to you.
Look at us with a smile on your face!
Then we will be safe.
8 You pulled us out from Egypt,
like a vine that you dug out of the ground.
You chased nations out of this land,
and you planted us here.[d]
9 You prepared the ground ready for us.
We put down roots like a vine.[e]
We grew well and we covered all the land.
10 Our branches gave shade to the mountains,
and to the big cedar trees.
11 Our branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,
and as far as the Euphrates River.
12 Why have you knocked down the walls
that protected us?[f]
Now, anyone who passes can rob our fruit.
13 Wild pigs from the forest attack your vine.
Other wild animals eat all the fruit.
14 Come back to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven
and see what is happening!
Take care of your special vine.
15 You planted it with your own right hand.
You caused it to grow, like a strong son.[g]
16 But now the enemy has cut down your vine,
and they have burned it with fire.
Show them that you are angry with them,
and destroy them!
17 Give strength to the one who sits at your right hand.
He is the man that you have chosen to serve you.[h]
18 Then we will never turn away from you.
Give to us new life and strength,
so that we may always worship you.
19 Lord God Almighty, turn us to come back to you.
Look at us with a smile on your face!
Then we will be safe.
Asaph wrote this song for the music leader. Use special music.
God gives us strength[i]
81 Sing with joy to praise God!
He is the one who makes us strong!
Shout aloud to the God of Jacob.[j]
2 Start the music! Beat your tambourines!
Make beautiful music on your harps and lyres.
3 Start the New Moon Festival
with the sound of the trumpet.
Also do it on the day of the Full Moon.[k]
4 This is a rule for Israel's people.
The God of Jacob commanded us to do it.
5 When God punished the land of Egypt,
he gave this rule to Joseph's family.
I heard a voice that I did not know.
6 It said: ‘I took the heavy load off your back.
You no longer had to carry those heavy baskets.
7 When you had trouble, you called to me for help
and I made you safe.
I answered your prayers
from the middle of the dark storm.
I tested you at Meribah,
when you had no water in the wilderness.
Selah.
8 I said, “My people, listen to me!
I warn you now.
Listen carefully to me, Israel's people!
9 There must not be any strange god among you.
You must never worship a foreign god.
10 I am the Lord, your God.
I brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide,
and I will fill it with many good things.”[l]
11 But my people refused to listen to me.
My people, Israel, did not obey me.
12 So I let them follow their own proud ideas.
They could do whatever they wanted to do.
13 But my people should listen to me!
Yes, Israel should obey my commands!
14 Then I would quickly win against their enemies.
I would attack them all.’
15 (Then people who hate the Lord
would fall down with fear in front of him.
They would be ashamed for ever.)
16 ‘But I would feed you, my people, with the best wheat.
I would give you plenty of honey from the rock,
for you to eat and be full.’
This is a psalm that Asaph wrote.
God and the gods[m]
82 God calls the powerful rulers to meet in heaven.
He sits on his throne to judge them.
2 He asks them, ‘How long will you continue to judge people
in a way that is not fair?
How long will you say that wicked people are right?
Selah.
3 You must help poor people and those with no family
to receive justice.
Help those who have pain and trouble
to receive the help that they need.
4 Rescue weak and helpless people,
so that evil people cannot hurt them.
5 The powerful leaders know nothing
and they understand nothing.
They walk about in a dark place.
At the same time the foundation of the earth shakes![n]
6 I said, “You are gods.
You are all sons of the Most High God.
7 But you will die, as all people die.
You will come to an end, like all other rulers.” ’[o]
8 God, now do something!
Judge all the nations of the earth.
For they all belong to you.
This psalm is a song that Asaph wrote.
Israel's enemies
83 God, do not continue to be silent!
Do not remain quiet.
Please do something!
2 Look! Your enemies are causing trouble.
The people who hate you are ready to attack.
3 They decide carefully how they will attack your people.
They want to hurt the people that you love.
4 They say, ‘Come now! We will destroy them.
They will no longer be a nation.
Nobody will remember the name of Israel any more.’
5 They agree together what they will do.
They join one another to fight against you.
6 Those enemies are Edomites and Ishmaelites,
Moabites and Hagrites.
7 They also come from Gebal, Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia and Tyre.
8 Even the Assyrian army has joined with them.
They have given strength to Lot's descendants,
the Moabites and the Ammonites.
Selah.
9 God, punish them as you punished Midian.
Do what you did to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon.[p]
10 You destroyed them at Endor.
Their bodies remained on the ground, like dirt.
11 Do to their leaders
what you did to Oreb and Zeeb.
Let their rulers die,
like Zebah and Zalmunna.[q]
12 Those people said,
‘Let us take God's valuable country for ourselves!’
13 God, blow them away like dust,
like chaff that blows away in the wind!
14 Go after them,
like a fire that burns both forest and mountains.
15 Chase them away with your storms.
Frighten them with your strong winds.
16 Cause them to be very ashamed, Lord,
so that they might turn to you.
17 May they always be ashamed and frightened.
Let them die with shame![r]
18 Then they will understand that you are the Lord.
They will know that you are the Most High God
who rules over all the earth.
Korah's sons wrote this song for the music leader. Use special music.
The journey to Zion
84 Lord Almighty,
the temple where you live is beautiful!
2 I want very much to go to the Lord's temple.
I very much want to be in the temple yards.
With all that I am, and with great joy,
I sing to you, the God who lives for ever!
3 In your temple,
even sparrows[s] have their homes.
Swallows builds their nests there,
to take care of their babies.
They can be near to your altars,
Lord Almighty, my king and my God.
4 You have truly blessed those people
who live in your temple.
They can praise you all the time!
Selah.
5 You have blessed those people
who come to you to make them strong.
They love to travel to your temple in Zion.
6 As they go through the dry Baka valley,
springs of water appear there!
The autumn rain covers the valley with pools.
7 The people become stronger as they travel,
until each one meets with God in Zion.[t]
8 Lord God Almighty,
please listen to my prayer!
God of Jacob, hear me!
Selah.
9 God, look at our king,
the one who protects us like a shield!
Take care of the king that you have chosen.
10 I would rather be near your temple for one day
than have a thousand days anywhere else.
I would rather stand near the door of God's temple
than live among wicked people.
11 The Lord God is like a sun
and a shield for his people.
He is kind to his people
and he gives glory to them.
To those who do what is right,
he gives every good thing that they need.
12 Lord Almighty,
you have truly blessed everyone who trusts in you!
The sons of Korah wrote this psalm for the music leader.
A prayer for peace[u]
85 Lord, you have blessed your land.
You have made Jacob's descendants strong again.[v]
2 You forgave your people's sins.
You took away their guilt.
Selah
3 You stopped being so angry with them.
You did not punish them any more.
4 But now turn back to us,
and make us strong again, God.
You are the one who rescues us.
Please stop being angry with us.
5 Will you continue to be angry with us for ever?
Will you be angry with our children too?
6 Please turn back to us
and give us new life!
Then your people will be happy
and they will praise you.
7 Lord, show us again your faithful love!
Please rescue us!
8 Now I will listen to what the Lord God says.
He will give peace to his people,
to those who serve him.
But they must not turn back
to do foolish things again.
9 Yes, God will soon rescue his people who serve him.
Then we will see his glory again in our land.
10 God will be faithful to us
and he will love us with his faithful love.
His justice and his peace will join together,
like dear friends.
11 Faithful truth will grow like a plant in the ground.
Justice will look down from the sky above.[w]
12 Yes! The Lord will bless us with many good things.
Plenty of food will grow in our land.
13 Justice will go before our God,
and it will make a way for him to walk on.
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