Psalm 80
Psalm 80 is the 80th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 79. In Latin, it is known as "Qui regis Israel intende". It is one of the 12 Psalms of Asaph. The New American Bible calls it "a prayer for Jerusalem". The Jerusalem Bible describes it as "a prayer for the restoration of Israel".
The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music, by composers including John Bennet and Heinrich Schütz, and notably Albert Roussel who composed an extended setting in English for tenor, choir and orchestra, completed in 1928.
Commentary
This psalm is classified as a 'communal lament'. Northern Israel is its main concern, so it may come from the period towards the end of the northern kingdom, although the Jerusalem Bible suggest that "it could apply equally well... to Judah after the sack of Jerusalem in 586 BC".Some links have been traced to Isaiah, with a 'similar image of a vineyard whose wall God breaks down', also to Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who both refer to YHWH as shepherd, although the exact phrase 'Shepherd of Israel' is unique in this psalm.
The existence of a refrain is unusual, and the first two mark off the first two parts of the psalm, with the rest of the psalm forming a final section. The division is as follows:
- Verses 1–2: a call to God for help
- Verses 4–6: an urgent plea and complaint at God's treatment of his people
- Verses 8–13: a description of God's past care of Israel
- Verses 14–17: a renewal of petition with a vow to return to God in verse 18, and a repetition of the refrain in verse 19.
Verse 17
Uses
Judaism
- This psalm is recited on the third day of Passover in some traditions, and on the second day of Sukkot in some traditions.
Christianity
- This psalm is recited some days during Lent, as part of Lauds of the Divine Office.
- In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the 16th day of the month.
Musical settings
Albert Roussel composed an extended setting in English for tenor, choir and orchestra, , completed in 1928 and first performed the following year. Alan Hovhaness made an unpublished setting of this psalm in 1953 titled Shepherd of Israel for tenor, recorder, trumpet ad lib. & string quartet. Emil Naumann composed a choral work setting the psalm in German, Du Hirte Israels, höre, published in Berlin in 2003.
Text
The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions. In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 79.| # | Hebrew | English | Greek |
| Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων· μαρτύριον τῷ ᾿Ασάφ, ψαλμὸς ὑπὲρ τοῦ ᾿Ασσυρίου. - | |||
| 1 | Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. | Ο ΠΟΙΜΑΙΝΩΝ τὸν ᾿Ισραήλ, πρόσχες, ὁ ὁδηγῶν ὡσεὶ πρόβατα τὸν ᾿Ιωσήφ. ὁ καθήμενος ἐπὶ τῶν Χερουβίμ, ἐμφάνηθι. | |
| 2 | Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us. | ἐναντίον ᾿Εφραὶμ καὶ Βενιαμὶν καὶ Μανασσῆ ἐξέγειρον τὴν δυναστείαν σου καὶ ἐλθὲ εἰς τὸ σῶσαι ἡμᾶς. | |
| 3 | Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. | ὁ Θεός, ἐπίστρεψον ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐπίφανον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου καὶ σωθησόμεθα. | |
| 4 | O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people? | Κύριε ὁ Θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων, ἕως πότε ὀργίζῃ ἐπὶ τὴν προσευχὴν τῶν δούλων σου; | |
| 5 | Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. | ψωμιεῖς ἡμᾶς ἄρτον δακρύων; καὶ ποτιεῖς ἡμᾶς ἐν δάκρυσιν ἐν μέτρῳ; | |
| 6 | Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves. | ἔθου ἡμᾶς εἰς ἀντιλογίαν τοῖς γείτοσιν ἡμῶν, καὶ οἱ ἐχθροὶ ἡμῶν ἐμυκτήρισαν ἡμᾶς. | |
| 7 | Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. | Κύριε ὁ Θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων, ἐπίστρεψον ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐπίφανον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου, καὶ σωθησόμεθα.. | |
| 8 | Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. | ἄμπελον ἐξ Αἰγύπτου μετῇρας, ἐξέβαλες ἔθνη καὶ κατεφύτευσας αὐτήν· | |
| 9 | Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. | ὡδοποίησας ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῆς καὶ κατεφύτευσας τὰς ῥίζας αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐπλήρωσε τὴν γῆν. | |
| 10 | The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. | ἐκάλυψεν ὄρη ἡ σκιὰ αὐτῆς καὶ αἱ ἀναδενδράδες αὐτῆς τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Θεοῦ· | |
| 11 | She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. | ἐξέτεινε τὰ κλήματα αὐτῆς ἕως θαλάσσης καὶ ἕως ποταμῶν τὰς παραφυάδας αὐτῆς. | |
| 12 | Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? | ἱνατί καθεῖλες τὸν φραγμὸν αὐτῆς καὶ τρυγῶσιν αὐτὴν πάντες οἱ παραπορευόμενοι τὴν ὁδόν; | |
| 13 | The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. | ἐλυμήνατο αὐτὴν ὗς ἐκ δρυμοῦ, καὶ μονιὸς ἄγριος κατενεμήσατο αὐτήν. | |
| 14 | Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; | ὁ Θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων, ἐπίστρεψον δή, καὶ ἐπίβλεψον ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἴδε καὶ ἐπίσκεψαι τὴν ἄμπελον ταύτην | |
| 15 | And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. | καὶ κατάρτισαι αὐτήν, ἣν ἐφύτευσεν ἡ δεξιά σου, καὶ ἐπὶ υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου, ὃν ἐκραταίωσας σεαυτῷ. | |
| 16 | It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. | ἐμπεπυρισμένη πυρὶ καὶ ἀνεσκαμμένη· ἀπὸ ἐπιτιμήσεως τοῦ προσώπου σου ἀπολοῦνται. | |
| 17 | Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. | γενηθήτω ἡ χείρ σου ἐπ᾿ ἄνδρα δεξιᾶς σου καὶ ἐπὶ υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου, ὃν ἐκραταίωσας σεαυτῷ· | |
| 18 | So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. | καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποστῶμεν ἀπὸ σοῦ, ζωώσεις ἡμᾶς, καὶ τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐπικαλεσόμεθα. | |
| 19 | Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. | Κύριε, ὁ Θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων, ἐπίστρεψον ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐπίφανον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου, καὶ σωθησόμεθα. |