seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Psalm 80[a] For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.
1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
come and save us.
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
come and save us.
3 Restore us, O God;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
4 How long, Lord God Almighty,
will your anger smolder
against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have made us an object of derision(b) to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.
will your anger smolder
against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have made us an object of derision(b) to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.
7 Restore us, God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
8 You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,[c]
its shoots as far as the River.[d]
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,[c]
its shoots as far as the River.[d]
12 Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage it,
and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,
15 the root your right hand has planted,
the son[e] you have raised up for yourself.
so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage it,
and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,
15 the root your right hand has planted,
the son[e] you have raised up for yourself.
16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
at your rebuke your people perish.
17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.
at your rebuke your people perish.
17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, Lord God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
a. Psalm 80:1 In Hebrew texts 80:1-19 is numbered 80:2-20.
b. Psalm 80:6 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text contention
c. Psalm 80:11 Probably the Mediterranean
d. Psalm 80:11 That is, the Euphrates
e. Psalm 80:15 Or branch
This is from the easy English site.
Some Bible students think that someone wrote this psalm 700 years before Jesus came to the earth.
There were 4 kings of all Israel, Saul, David, Solomon and Rehoboam. While Rehoboam was king, the country became two kingdoms. The north was Israel, the south was Judah. There were 10 groups (or tribes) of people in the north, and 2 in the south. Ephraim and Manasseh and Simeon were tribes in the kingdom in the north. The tribes in the south were Judah and Benjamin. Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin always went together when the Jews walked from Egypt to the Promised Land. (The Promised Land was where they came to live. We call it Israel.) But in 720 BC, Assyria beat the kingdom in the north, and took the 10 tribes away.
In this psalm, the *psalmist prays that the tribes may become united again. Ephraim and Manasseh were sons of Joseph. Both Joseph and Benjamin were sons of Rachel. Rachel was the wife of Jacob. His other name was Israel. The Bible uses all three names for God’s people ... Israel, Jacob and Joseph!
Other Bible students think that this psalm came after the exile. The exile was when the king of the country of Babylon took the people in the south kingdom away. This happened in 587 B.C. (B.C. means “years Before Christ came to the earth”.) These students think that the psalmist is praying for all the tribes to become united again in the Promised Land.
Study this psalm in three parts: each part ends "Make us return (to you). Make your face shine (on us) and make us safe". Bible students are not sure if "return" means "return from *exile" in Assyria or Babylon; or "return to God from the wrong things we have done". Our translation chooses the second meaning, but both could be true. "Make your face shine" is how the *Jews said, "Do something good for us". This is what we call "The *covenant". If God’s people obey him, he will make them safe. In verse 1 Joseph means the same as Israel, God’s people. Maybe the psalmist used the name Joseph because he was the father of Ephraim and Manasseh. The words "shine on" at the start of verse 2 are in verse 1 in the Hebrew Bible. As in verses 3, 7 and 19, "shine" here means "do something good". The good thing the psalmist wants is for all the people to be united in their own country. "Get up" in the *Hebrew Bible is "wake up".
In the second part, verses 4-7, the psalmist asks God how long it will be before:
· God stops being angry with them
· God stops making them cry buckets full of tears
· God stops their enemies fighting them and laughing at them
In verses 4 (and 19) we have the name LORD God of Sabaoth. Isaiah and Jeremiah often used this name. Each part of the name means something. LORD means that he will always be alive. God means that he is powerful. Sabaoth means that he has great armies, both on earth and in heaven.
In the last part of the psalm, the vine is a picture of God’s people. He brought them from Egypt to the Promised Land of Israel, verse 8. They lived in it from the Sea in the west to the River in the east, from the mountains in the south to Lebanon in the north, verses 9-11.They used to build walls round vines to keep them safe. But God knocked down these walls and let wild animals attack and destroy it, verses 12-13. The wild animals are a picture of Israel’s enemies. Then the psalmist prays that God will do something and send help to Israel, verses 14-19. "Hand" and "right hand" are Bible-pictures of God doing something in our world. "The son", verse 15, and "the man" and "the son of man", verse 17, are all names for God’s people Israel. Some Bible students think that it may be the king of Israel.
So this poem is about the split of Israel into Israel and Judah. 