Psalms 80
1 “For the leader of the music. Upon the Shushan-Eduth. A psalm of Asaph.” Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel! Thou who leadest Joseph like a flock, Thou who sittest between the cherubs, 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 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 Bring us back, O God! And cause thy face to shine, that we may 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 wilt thou be angry 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 For thou causest them to eat the bread of tears, And givest them tears to drink, in full 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 the object of strife to our neighbors, And our enemies hold us in derision.
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 Bring us back, O God of hosts! And cause thy face to shine that we may 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 didst bring a vine out of Egypt; Thou didst expel 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 didst prepare a place for it; It spread its roots, 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 shade, And its branches were like the 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 to the sea, And its 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 hast thou now broken down its hedges, So that all who pass by do pluck from 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 from the wood doth waste it, And the wild beast of the forest doth devour 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 heaven, and behold, And have regard to 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 Protect what thy right hand planted; The branch which thou madest strong for thyself!
who are [like] the young vine that you [SYN] planted and caused to grow!
16 It is burnt with fire; it is cut down; Under thy rebuke they perish.
Our enemies have torn down and burned everything in our land; look at them angrily and get rid of them!
17 May thy hand be over the man of thy right hand, The man whom thou madest 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 no more turn back from thee: Revive us, and upon thy name alone will 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 Bring us back, O LORD, God of hosts! And cause thy face to shine, that we may he saved!
Yahweh, commander of the armies of heaven, restore us; be kind to us in order that we may be rescued [from our enemies]!
