Psalm 80–84
Psalm 80a
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.q
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,r
shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.s
Awakent your might;
come and save us.u
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.x
4 How long,y Lord God Almighty,
will your anger smolderz
against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;a
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.b
6 You have made us an object of derisionb to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.c
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.d
8 You transplanted a vinee from Egypt;
you drove outf the nations and plantedg 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 h
12 Why have you broken down its wallsi
so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravagej it,
and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!k
Watch over this vine,
15 the root your right hand has planted,
the sone you have raised up for yourself.
16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;l
at your rebukem your people perish.
17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of mann you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
reviveo 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.
Psalm 81a
For the director of music. According to gittith.b Of Asaph.
1 Sing for joy to God our strength;
shout aloud to the God of Jacob!p
2 Begin the music, strike the timbrel,q
play the melodious harpr and lyre.s
3 Sound the ram’s hornt at the New Moon,u
and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival;
4 this is a decree for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.v
5 When God went out against Egypt,w
he established it as a statute for Joseph.
I heard an unknown voice say:x
6 “I removed the burdeny from their shoulders;z
their hands were set free from the basket.
7 In your distress you calleda and I rescued you,
I answeredb you out of a thundercloud;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.c c
8 Hear me, my people,d and I will warn you—
if you would only listen to me, Israel!
9 You shall have no foreign gode among you;
you shall not worship any god other than me.
who brought you up out of Egypt.f
Openg wide your mouth and I will fillh it.
11 “But my people would not listen to me;
Israel would not submit to me.i
12 So I gave them overj to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own devices.
13 “If my people would only listen to me,k
if Israel would only follow my ways,
14 how quickly I would subduel their enemies
and turn my hand againstm their foes!
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringen before him,
and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;o
with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
1 God presides in the great assembly;
he renders judgmentp among the “gods”:q
2 “How long will youa defend the unjust
and show partialityr to the wicked?b s
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;t
uphold the cause of the pooru and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.v
They walk about in darkness;w
all the foundationsx of the earth are shaken.
6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”;y
you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will diez like mere mortals;
you will fall like every other ruler.”
8 Rise up,a O God, judgeb the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance.c
Psalm 83a
1 O God, do not remain silent;d
do not turn a deaf ear,
do not stand aloof, O God.
2 See how your enemies growl,e
how your foes rear their heads.f
3 With cunning they conspireg against your people;
they plot against those you cherish.h
4 “Come,” they say, “let us destroyi them as a nation,j
so that Israel’s name is rememberedk no more.”
5 With one mind they plot together;l
they form an alliance against you—
6 the tents of Edomm and the Ishmaelites,
7 Byblos,p Ammonq and Amalek,r
Philistia,s with the people of Tyre.t
8 Even Assyriau has joined them
to reinforce Lot’s descendants.b v
9 Do to them as you did to Midian,w
as you did to Siserax and Jabiny at the river Kishon,z
10 who perished at Endora
and became like dungb on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,c
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,d
12 who said, “Let us take possessione
of the pasturelands of God.”
13 Make them like tumbleweed, my God,
like chafff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest
or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,g
15 so pursue them with your tempesth
and terrify them with your storm.i
16 Cover their faces with shame,j Lord,
so that they will seek your name.
17 May they ever be ashamed and dismayed;k
may they perish in disgrace.l
18 Let them know that you, whose name is the Lordm—
that you alone are the Most Highn over all the earth.o
Psalm 84a
For the director of music. According to gittith.b Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,p
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns,q even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.r
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,s
Lord Almighty,t my Kingu and my God.v
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.c
5 Blessed are those whose strengthw is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.x
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;y
the autumnz rains also cover it with pools.d
7 They go from strength to strength,a
till each appearsb before God in Zion.c
8 Hear my prayer,d Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.
9 Look on our shield,e e O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.f
10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeperg in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is a sunh and shield;i
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withholdj
from those whose walk is blameless.
blessedk is the one who trusts in you.