PSALM 80

God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.

For the choir director; set to †El Shoshannim; •Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 Oh, give ear, aShepherd of Israel,

You who lead bJoseph like a flock;

You who care enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!

2 Before aEphraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, bstir up Your power

And come to save us!

3 O God, arestore us

And bcause Your face to shine upon us, 1and we will be saved.

4 O aLord God of hosts,

bHow long will You 1be angry with the prayer of Your people?

5 You have fed them with the abread of tears,

And You have made them to drink tears in 1large measure.

6 You make us 1an object of contention ato our neighbors,

And our enemies laugh among themselves.

7 O God of hosts, restore us

And cause Your face to shine upon us, 1and we will be saved.

8 You removed a avine from Egypt;

You bdrove out the 1nations and cplanted it.

9 You acleared the ground before it,

And it btook deep root and filled the land.

10 The mountains were covered with its shadow,

And 1the cedars of God with its aboughs.

11 It was sending out its branches ato the sea

And its shoots to the River.

12 Why have You abroken down its 1hedges,

So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?

13 A boar from the forest aeats it away

And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.

14 O God of hosts, aturn again now, we beseech You;

bLook down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,

15 Even the 1ashoot which Your right hand has planted,

And on the 2son whom You have 3strengthened for Yourself.

16 It is aburned with fire, it is cut down;

They perish at the brebuke of Your countenance.

17 Let aYour hand be upon the man of Your right hand,

Upon the son of man whom You bmade strong for Yourself.

18 Then we shall not aturn back from You;

bRevive us, and we will call upon Your name.

19 O Lord God of hosts, arestore us;

Cause Your face to shine upon us, 1and we will be saved.

PSALM 81

God’s Goodness and Israel’s Waywardness.

For the choir director; †on the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 aSing for joy to God our bstrength;

Shout cjoyfully to the dGod of Jacob.

2 Raise a song, strike athe timbrel,

The sweet sounding blyre with the charp.

3 Blow the trumpet at the anew moon,

At the full moon, on our bfeast day.

4 For it is a statute for Israel,

An ordinance of the God of Jacob.

5 He established it for a testimony in Joseph

When he 1awent throughout the land of Egypt.

I heard a blanguage that I did not know:

6 “I 1arelieved his shoulder of the burden,

His hands were freed from the 2basket.

7 “You acalled in trouble and I rescued you;

I banswered you in the hiding place of thunder;

I proved you at the cwaters of Meribah.

1Selah.

8 “aHear, O My people, and I will 1admonish you;

O Israel, if you bwould listen to Me!

9 “Let there be no astrange god among you;

Nor shall you worship any foreign god.

10 “aI, the Lord, am your God,

Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;

bOpen your mouth wide and I will cfill it.

11 “But My people adid not listen to My voice,

And Israel did not 1obey Me.

12 “So I agave 1them over to the stubbornness of their heart,

To walk in their own devices.

13 “Oh that My people awould listen to Me,

That Israel would bwalk in My ways!

14 “I would quickly asubdue their enemies

And bturn My hand against their adversaries.

15 “aThose who hate the Lord would bpretend obedience to Him,

And their time of punishment would be forever.

16 “1But I would feed you with the 2afinest of the wheat,

And with bhoney from the rock I would satisfy you.”

PSALM 82

Unjust Judgments Rebuked.

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 God takes His astand in 1His own congregation;

He bjudges in the midst of the 2crulers.

2 How long will you ajudge unjustly

And bshow partiality to the wicked?

1Selah.

3 aVindicate the weak and fatherless;

Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.

4 aRescue the weak and needy;

Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.

5 They ado not know nor do they understand;

They bwalk about in darkness;

All the cfoundations of the earth are shaken.

6 1I asaid, “You are gods,

And all of you are bsons of the Most High.

7 “Nevertheless ayou will die like men

And fall like any bone of the princes.”

8 aArise, O God, bjudge the earth!

For it is You who cpossesses all the nations.