Psalms 80

1 TO THE OVERSEER. [SET] TO “LILIES OF TESTIMONY.” A PSALM OF ASAPH. Shepherd of Israel, give ear, Leading Joseph as a flock, Inhabiting 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, Wake up Your might, and come for our salvation.

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, cause us to turn back, And cause Your face to shine, and we are 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 YHWH, God of Hosts, until when? You have burned 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 have caused them to eat bread of tears, And cause them to drink With tears a third time.

[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 mock at it.

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 God of Hosts, turn us back, And cause Your face to shine, and we are 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 bring a vine out of Egypt, You cast out 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 You have looked before it, and root it, And it fills 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 Hills have been covered [with] its shadow, And its boughs [are] 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 sends forth its branches to the sea, And its shoots 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 broken down its hedges, And everyone passing by the way has plucked 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 A boar out of the forest tears it, And a wild beast of the fields grazes it.

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

14 God of Hosts, turn back, we implore You, Look from the heavens, and see, and inspect 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 root that Your right hand planted, And the branch You made strong for Yourself,

who are [like] the young vine that you [SYN] planted and caused to grow!

16 Burned with fire—cut down, They perish from the rebuke of Your face.

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 You have strengthened for Yourself.

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

18 And we do not go back from You, You revive us, and in Your Name we call.

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 O YHWH, God of Hosts, turn us back, Cause Your face to shine, and we are saved!

Yahweh, commander of the armies of heaven, restore us; be kind to us in order that we may be rescued [from our enemies]!