Psalms 80

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you that lead Joseph like a flock; you that dwell 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 your strength, and come and save us.

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 Turn us again, O God, and cause your 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 O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry against the prayer of your 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 You feed them with the bread of tears; and give them tears to drink in great measure.

[It is as though] the only food and drink that you have given us is a cup full of our tears!

6 You make us a strife to our neighbors: and our enemies laugh 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 Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause your 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 You have brought a vine out of Egypt: you have cast out the heathen, and planted 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 You prepared room before it, and did cause it to take deep root, and it 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 hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.

[Like huge] grapevines cover the hills with their shade and their branches are taller than big cedar [trees] [MET, HYP],

11 She sent out her boughs to the sea, and her branches to the river.

[your people ruled all of Canaan], from the [Mediterranean] Sea [in the west] to the [Euphrates] River [in the east].

12 Why have you then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?

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 wood does waste it, and the wild beast of the field does devour it.

and wild pigs [can] trample [the vines], and wild animals [can also] eat [the grapes].

14 Return, we beseech you, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, 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 And the vineyard which your right hand has planted, and the branch that you made strong for yourself.

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 your countenance.

Our enemies have torn down and burned everything in our land; look at them angrily and get rid of them!

17 Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, on the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.

But strengthen [us] people whom you have chosen [IDM], [us] Israeli people whom you [previously] caused to be very strong.

18 So will not we go back from you: quicken us, and we will call on your 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 Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause your 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]!