Psalms 80
1 To the chief Musician. On Shoshannim-Eduth. Of Asaph. A Psalm. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that sittest [between] the cherubim, shine forth.
[Yahweh], you [who lead us like] a shepherd leads his flock [of sheep], listen to us Israeli people. You sit on your throne [in the Very Holy Place in the temple], above the [carvings of] winged creatures.
2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up thy strength, and come to our deliverance.
Show yourself to [the people of the tribes of] Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh! Show us that you are powerful and come and rescue us!
3 O God, restore us; and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
God, cause our nation to be strong like it was before; be kind to us [IDM] in order that we may be saved [from our enemies.]
4 Jehovah, God of hosts, how long will thine anger smoke against the prayer of thy people?
Yahweh, you who are the commander of the armies of heaven, how long will you be angry with us, your people, when we pray to you?
5 Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in large measure:
[It is as though] the only food and drink that you have given us is a cup full of our tears!
6 Thou hast made us a strife unto our neighbours, and our enemies mock among themselves.
You have allowed the people-groups that surround us to fight with [each other to decide which part of our land each of them will take]; our enemies laugh at us.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts; and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
God, commander of the armies of heaven, cause our nation to be strong like it was before! Be kind to us in order that we may be saved!
8 Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt; thou didst cast out the nations, and plant it:
[Our ancestors were like] a grapevine [MET] that you brought out of Egypt; you expelled the other people-groups [from this land], and you put your people in their land.
9 Thou preparedst space before it, and it took deep root, and filled the land;
[Like people] clear ground to plant a grapevine [MET], [you cleared out the people who were living in this land for us to live in it]. [Like] the roots of a grapevine go deep down into the ground and spread [MET], [you enabled our ancestors to prosper and start living in towns all over this land].
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow, and the branches thereof were [like] cedars of God;
[Like huge] grapevines cover the hills with their shade and their branches are taller than big cedar [trees] [MET, HYP],
11 It sent out its boughs unto the sea, and its shoots unto the river.
[your people ruled all of Canaan], from the [Mediterranean] Sea [in the west] to the [Euphrates] River [in the east].
12 Why hast thou broken down its fences, so that all who pass by the way do pluck it?
So why have you abandoned us and [allowed our enemies to] tear down our walls [RHQ]? [You are like] someone who tears down the fences [around his vineyard], with the result that all [the people] who pass by [can] steal the grapes,
13 The boar out of the forest doth waste it, and the beast of the field doth feed off it.
and wild pigs [can] trample [the vines], and wild animals [can also] eat [the grapes].
14 O God of hosts, return, we beseech thee; look down from the heavens, and behold, and visit this vine;
You who are the commander of the armies of heaven, (turn to/stop abandoning) us! Look down from heaven and see [what is happening to] us! Come and rescue [us who are like] [MET] your grapevine,
15 Even the stock which thy right hand hath planted, and the young plant thou madest strong for thyself.
who are [like] the young vine that you [SYN] planted and caused to grow!
16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down; they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
Our enemies have torn down and burned everything in our land; look at them angrily and get rid of them!
17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou hast made strong for thyself.
But strengthen [us] people whom you have chosen [IDM], [us] Israeli people whom you [previously] caused to be very strong.
18 So will we not go back from thee. Revive us, and we will call upon thy name.
When you do that, we will never turn away from you again; (revive us/cause us to be again like we were previously), and [then] we will praise/worship you.
19 Restore us, O Jehovah, God of hosts; cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
Yahweh, commander of the armies of heaven, restore us; be kind to us in order that we may be rescued [from our enemies]!
