Psalms 80

1 For the leader. On shoshannim, eduth. Of Asaph, a psalm. Listen, Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock of sheep; from your throne on 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, Manasseh, and Benjamin. Stir up your mighty power, come to our help.

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 God, restore us: show us the light of your face, so 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 of hosts, how long is your anger to smoke, despite 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 fed them with bread of tears, you have made them drink tears by the measure.

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

6 The scorn of our neighbors you make us, the laughing-stock of our foes.

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, restore us: show us the light of your face, so 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 A vine out of Egypt you brought; you did drive out the nations, and plant her;

[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 in the ground you did clear she struck root, and she filled all 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 shade of her covered the mountains, her branches 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 She sent forth her shoots to the sea, and her branches as far as 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 torn down her fences, and left her to be plucked at by all who pass by,

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 to be gnawed by the boar from the forest, and devoured by the beasts of the field?

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

14 O God of hosts, return: look down from heaven and see and visit this vine, and restore her

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 the vine which your right hand has planted.

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

16 She is burned with fire and cut down before your stern face they are perishing.

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

17 Support the one you have chosen, the one you have raised for yourself;

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

18 then from you we will never draw back. Preserve 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 Lord, God of hosts, restore us: Show us the light of your face, so we may 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]!