Boks TemuanPsalms 79:1--82:8
KonteksA psalm of Asaph.
79:1 O God, foreigners 2 have invaded your chosen land; 3
they have polluted your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem 4 into a heap of ruins.
79:2 They have given the corpses of your servants
to the birds of the sky; 5
the flesh of your loyal followers
to the beasts of the earth.
79:3 They have made their blood flow like water
all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. 6
79:4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. 7
79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? 8
Will you stay angry forever?
How long will your rage 9 burn like fire?
79:6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you, 10
on the kingdoms that do not pray to you! 11
79:7 For they have devoured Jacob
and destroyed his home.
79:8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations! 12
Quickly send your compassion our way, 13
for we are in serious trouble! 14
79:9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!
For the sake of your glorious reputation, 15 rescue us!
Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation! 16
79:10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants
be avenged among the nations! 17
79:11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners! 18
Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die! 19
79:12 Pay back our neighbors in full! 20
May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord! 21
79:13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will continually thank you. 22
We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts. 23
For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; 25 a psalm of Asaph.
80:1 O shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep!
You who sit enthroned above the winged angels, 26 reveal your splendor! 27
80:2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal 28 your power!
Come and deliver us! 29
80:3 O God, restore us!
Smile on us! 30 Then we will be delivered! 31
80:4 O Lord God, invincible warrior! 32
How long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you? 33
80:5 You have given them tears as food; 34
you have made them drink tears by the measure. 35
80:6 You have made our neighbors dislike us, 36
and our enemies insult us.
80:7 O God, invincible warrior, 37 restore us!
Smile on us! 38 Then we will be delivered! 39
80:8 You uprooted a vine 40 from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
80:9 You cleared the ground for it; 41
it took root, 42
and filled the land.
80:10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars 43 by its branches.
80:11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea, 44
and its shoots the Euphrates River. 45
80:12 Why did you break down its walls, 46
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit? 47
80:13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it; 48
the insects 49 of the field feed on it.
80:14 O God, invincible warrior, 50 come back!
Look down from heaven and take notice!
Take care of this vine,
80:15 the root 51 your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow! 52
80:16 It is burned 53 and cut down.
They die because you are displeased with them. 54
80:17 May you give support to the one you have chosen, 55
to the one whom you raised up for yourself! 56
80:18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you! 57
80:19 O Lord God, invincible warrior, 58 restore us!
Smile on us! 59 Then we will be delivered! 60
For the music director; according to the gittith style; 62 by Asaph.
81:1 Shout for joy to God, our source of strength!
Shout out to the God of Jacob!
81:2 Sing 63 a song and play the tambourine,
the pleasant sounding harp, and the ten-stringed instrument!
81:3 Sound the ram’s horn on the day of the new moon, 64
and on the day of the full moon when our festival begins. 65
81:4 For observing the festival is a requirement for Israel; 66
it is an ordinance given by the God of Jacob.
81:5 He decreed it as a regulation in Joseph,
when he attacked the land of Egypt. 67
I heard a voice I did not recognize. 68
81:6 It said: 69 “I removed the burden from his shoulder;
his hands were released from holding the basket. 70
81:7 In your distress you called out and I rescued you.
I answered you from a dark thundercloud. 71
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. 72 (Selah)
81:8 I said, 73 ‘Listen, my people!
I will warn 74 you!
O Israel, if only you would obey me! 75
81:9 There must be 76 no other 77 god among you.
You must not worship a foreign god.
81:10 I am the Lord, your God,
the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it!’
81:11 But my people did not obey me; 78
Israel did not submit to me. 79
81:12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires; 80
they did what seemed right to them. 81
81:13 If only my people would obey me! 82
If only Israel would keep my commands! 83
81:14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,
and attack 84 their adversaries.”
81:15 (May those who hate the Lord 85 cower in fear 86 before him!
May they be permanently humiliated!) 87
81:16 “I would feed Israel the best wheat, 88
and would satisfy your appetite 89 with honey from the rocky cliffs.” 90
A psalm of Asaph.
82:1 God stands in 92 the assembly of El; 93
in the midst of the gods 94 he renders judgment. 95
82:2 He says, 96 “How long will you make unjust legal decisions
and show favoritism to the wicked? 97 (Selah)
82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! 98
Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!
82:4 Rescue the poor and needy!
Deliver them from the power 99 of the wicked!
82:5 They 100 neither know nor understand.
They stumble 101 around in the dark,
while all the foundations of the earth crumble. 102
82:6 I thought, 103 ‘You are gods;
all of you are sons of the Most High.’ 104
82:7 Yet you will die like mortals; 105
you will fall like all the other rulers.” 106
82:8 Rise up, O God, and execute judgment on the earth!
For you own 107 all the nations.
[79:1] 1 sn Psalm 79. The author laments how the invading nations have destroyed the temple and city of Jerusalem. He asks God to forgive his people and to pour out his vengeance on those who have mistreated them.
[79:1] 3 tn Heb “have come into your inheritance.”
[79:1] 4 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[79:2] 5 tn Heb “[as] food for the birds of the sky.”
[79:3] 9 tn Heb “they have poured out their blood like water, all around Jerusalem, and there is no one burying.”
[79:4] 13 tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.” See Ps 44:13.
[79:5] 17 tn Heb “How long, O
[79:5] 18 tn Or “jealous anger.”
[79:6] 21 tn Heb “which do not know you.” Here the Hebrew term “know” means “acknowledge the authority of.”
[79:6] 22 sn The kingdoms that do not pray to you. The people of these kingdoms pray to other gods, not the Lord, because they do not recognize his authority over them.
[79:8] 25 tn Heb “do not remember against us sins, former.” Some understand “former” as an attributive adjective modifying sins, “former [i.e., chronologically prior] sins” (see BDB 911 s.v. רִאשׁוֹן). The present translation assumes that ראשׁנים (“former”) here refers to those who lived formerly, that is, the people’s ancestors (see Lam 5:7). The word is used in this way in Lev 26:45; Deut 19:14 and Eccl 1:11.
[79:8] 26 tn Heb “may your compassion quickly confront us.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating a tone of prayer.
[79:8] 27 tn Heb “for we are very low.”
[79:9] 29 tn Heb “the glory of your name.” Here and in the following line “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
[79:10] 33 tn Heb “may it be known among the nations, to our eyes, the vengeance of the shed blood of your servants.”
[79:11] 37 tn Heb “may the painful cry of the prisoner come before you.”
[79:11] 38 tn Heb “according to the greatness of your arm leave the sons of death.” God’s “arm” here symbolizes his strength to deliver. The verbal form הוֹתֵר (hoter) is a Hiphil imperative from יָתַר (yatar, “to remain; to be left over”). Here it must mean “to leave over; to preserve.” However, it is preferable to emend the form to הַתֵּר (hatter), a Hiphil imperative from נָתַר (natar, “be free”). The Hiphil form is used in Ps 105:20 of Pharaoh freeing Joseph from prison. The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 102:21) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.
[79:12] 41 tn Heb “Return to our neighbors sevenfold into their lap.” The number seven is used rhetorically to express the thorough nature of the action. For other rhetorical/figurative uses of the Hebrew phrase שִׁבְעָתַיִם (shiv’atayim, “seven times”) see Gen 4:15, 24; Ps 12:6; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.
[79:12] 42 tn Heb “their reproach with which they reproached you, O Lord.”
[79:13] 45 tn Or (hyperbolically) “will thank you forever.”
[79:13] 46 tn Heb “to a generation and a generation we will report your praise.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.
[80:1] 49 sn Psalm 80. The psalmist laments Israel’s demise and asks the Lord to show favor toward his people, as he did in earlier times.
[80:1] 50 tn The Hebrew expression shushan-eduth means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title. See the superscription to Ps 60.
[80:1] 51 sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
[80:1] 52 tn Heb “shine forth.”
[80:2] 53 tn Heb “stir up”; “arouse.”
[80:2] 54 tn Heb “come for our deliverance.”
[80:3] 57 tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
[80:3] 58 tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.
[80:4] 61 tn Heb “
[80:4] 62 tn Heb “How long will you remain angry during the prayer of your people.” Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) in an adversative sense here (“at/against the prayer of your people”), but the temporal sense is preferable. The psalmist expects persistent prayer to pacify God.
[80:5] 65 tn Heb “you have fed them the food of tears.”
[80:5] 66 tn Heb “[by] the third part [of a measure].” The Hebrew term שָׁלִישׁ (shalish, “third part [of a measure]”) occurs only here and in Isa 40:12.
[80:6] 69 tn Heb “you have made us an object of contention to our neighbors.”
[80:7] 73 tn Heb “O God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also v. 4 for a similar construction.
[80:7] 74 tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
[80:7] 75 tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.
[80:8] 77 sn The vine is here a metaphor for Israel (see Ezek 17:6-10; Hos 10:1).
[80:9] 81 tn Heb “you cleared away before it.”
[80:9] 82 tn Heb “and it took root [with] its roots.”
[80:10] 85 tn Heb “cedars of God.” The divine name אֵל (’al, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.
[80:11] 89 tn Heb “to [the] sea.” The “sea” refers here to the Mediterranean Sea.
[80:11] 90 tn Heb “to [the] river.” The “river” is the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. Israel expanded both to the west and to the east.
[80:12] 93 sn The protective walls of the metaphorical vineyard are in view here (see Isa 5:5).
[80:13] 97 tn The Hebrew verb כִּרְסֵם (kirsem, “to eat away; to ruin”) occurs only here in the OT.
[80:13] 98 tn The precise referent of the Hebrew word translated “insects,” which occurs only here and in Ps 50:11, is uncertain. Aramaic, Arabic, and Akkadian cognates refer to insects, such as locusts or crickets.
[80:14] 101 tn Heb “O God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also vv. 4, 7 for a similar construction.
[80:15] 105 tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT. HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן emends the form to כַּנָּהּ (kannah, “its shoot”).
[80:15] 106 tn Heb “and upon a son you strengthened for yourself.” In this context, where the extended metaphor of the vine dominates, בֵּן (ben, “son”) probably refers to the shoots that grow from the vine. Cf. Gen 49:22.
[80:16] 109 tn Heb “burned with fire.”
[80:16] 110 tn Heb “because of the rebuke of your face they perish.”
[80:17] 113 tn Heb “may your hand be upon the man of your right hand.” The referent of the otherwise unattested phrase “man of your right hand,” is unclear. It may refer to the nation collectively as a man. (See the note on the word “yourself” in v. 17b.)
[80:17] 114 tn Heb “upon the son of man you strengthened for yourself.” In its only other use in the Book of Psalms, the phrase “son of man” refers to the human race in general (see Ps 8:4). Here the phrase may refer to the nation collectively as a man. Note the use of the statement “you strengthened for yourself” both here and in v. 15, where the “son” (i.e., the branch of the vine) refers to Israel.
[80:18] 117 tn Heb “and in your name we will call.”
[80:19] 121 tn Heb “O
[80:19] 122 tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
[80:19] 123 tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.
[81:1] 125 sn Psalm 81. The psalmist calls God’s people to assemble for a festival and then proclaims God’s message to them. The divine speech (vv. 6-16) recalls how God delivered the people from Egypt, reminds Israel of their rebellious past, expresses God’s desire for his people to obey him, and promises divine protection in exchange for obedience.
[81:1] 126 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument. See the superscription to Ps 8.
[81:3] 133 tn Heb “at the new moon.”
[81:3] 134 tn Heb “at the full moon on the day of our festival.” The Hebrew word כֶּסֶה (keseh) is an alternate spelling of כֶּסֶא (kese’, “full moon”).
[81:4] 137 tn Heb “because a statute for Israel [is] it.”
[81:5] 141 tn Heb “in his going out against the land of Egypt.” This apparently refers to the general time period of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. The LXX reads, “from Egypt,” in which case “Joseph” (see the preceding line) would be the subject of the verb, “when he [Joseph = Israel] left Egypt.”
[81:5] 142 tn Heb “a lip I did not know, I heard.” Here the term “lip” probably stands for speech or a voice. Apparently the psalmist speaks here and refers to God’s voice, whose speech is recorded in the following verses.
[81:6] 145 tn The words “It said” are not included in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[81:6] 146 sn I removed the burden. The Lord speaks metaphorically of how he delivered his people from Egyptian bondage. The reference to a basket/burden probably alludes to the hard labor of the Israelites in Egypt, where they had to carry loads of bricks (see Exod 1:14).
[81:7] 149 tn Heb “I answered you in the hidden place of thunder.” This may allude to God’s self-revelation at Mount Sinai, where he appeared in a dark cloud accompanied by thunder (see Exod 19:16).
[81:7] 150 sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at the place called Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.
[81:8] 153 tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Verses 8-10 appear to recall what the
[81:8] 154 tn Or perhaps “command.”
[81:8] 155 tn The Hebrew particle אִם (“if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (GKC 321 §109.b). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.
[81:9] 157 tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 have a modal function, expressing what is obligatory.
[81:9] 158 tn Heb “different”; “illicit.”
[81:11] 161 tn Heb “did not listen to my voice.”
[81:11] 162 tn The Hebrew expression אָבָה לִי (’avah liy) means “submit to me” (see Deut 13:8).
[81:12] 165 tn Heb “and I sent him away in the stubbornness of their heart.”
[81:12] 166 tn Heb “they walked in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite (“walked”) or a customary imperfect (“were walking”).
[81:13] 169 tn Heb “if only my people were listening to me.” The Hebrew particle לוּ (lu, “if not”) introduces a purely hypothetical or contrary to fact condition (see 2 Sam 18:12).
[81:13] 170 tn Heb “[and if only] Israel would walk in my ways.”
[81:14] 173 tn Heb “turn my hand against.” The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack” (see Isa 1:25; Ezek 38:12; Amos 1:8; Zech 13:7).
[81:15] 177 tn “Those who hate the
[81:15] 178 tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 66:3 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “to be weak; to be powerless” (see also Ps 109:24). The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, parallel to the jussive form in the next line.
[81:15] 179 tc Heb “and may their time be forever.” The Hebrew term עִתָּם (’ittam, “their time”) must refer here to the “time” of the demise and humiliation of those who hate the
[81:16] 181 tn Heb “and he fed him from the best of the wheat.” The Hebrew text has a third person form of the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive attached. However, it is preferable, in light of the use of the first person in v. 14 and in the next line, to emend the verb to a first person form and understand the vav as conjunctive, continuing the apodosis of the conditional sentence of vv. 13-14. The third masculine singular pronominal suffix refers to Israel, as in v. 6.
[81:16] 182 tn Heb “you.” The second person singular pronominal suffix refers to Israel, as in vv. 7-10.
[81:16] 183 sn The language in this verse, particularly the references to wheat and honey, is reminiscent of Deut 32:13-14.
[82:1] 185 sn Psalm 82. The psalmist pictures God standing in the “assembly of El” where he accuses the “gods” of failing to promote justice on earth. God pronounces sentence upon them, announcing that they will die like men. Having witnessed the scene, the psalmist then asks God to establish his just rule over the earth.
[82:1] 186 tn Or “presides over.”
[82:1] 187 tn The phrase עֲדַת אֵל (’adat ’el, “assembly of El”) appears only here in the OT. (1) Some understand “El” to refer to God himself. In this case he is pictured presiding over his own heavenly assembly. (2) Others take אֵל as a superlative here (“God stands in the great assembly”), as in Pss 36:6 and 80:10. (3) The present translation assumes this is a reference to the Canaanite high god El, who presided over the Canaanite divine assembly. (See Isa 14:13, where El’s assembly is called “the stars of El.”) In the Ugaritic myths the phrase ’dt ’ilm refers to the “assembly of the gods,” who congregate in King Kirtu’s house, where Baal asks El to bless Kirtu’s house (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). If the Canaanite divine assembly is referred to here in Ps 82:1, then the psalm must be understood as a bold polemic against Canaanite religion. Israel’s God invades El’s assembly, denounces its gods as failing to uphold justice, and announces their coming demise. For an interpretation of the psalm along these lines, see W. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” EBC 5:533-36.
[82:1] 188 sn The present translation assumes that the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “gods”) here refers to the pagan gods who supposedly comprise El’s assembly according to Canaanite religion. Those who reject the polemical view of the psalm prefer to see the referent as human judges or rulers (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to officials appointed by God, see Exod 21:6; 22:8-9; Ps 45:6) or as angelic beings (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to angelic beings, see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5).
[82:1] 189 sn The picture of God rendering judgment among the gods clearly depicts his sovereign authority as universal king (see v. 8, where the psalmist boldly affirms this truth).
[82:2] 189 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to indicate that the following speech is God’s judicial decision (see v. 1).
[82:2] 190 tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”
[82:3] 193 tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).
[82:5] 201 sn Having addressed the defendants, God now speaks to those who are observing the trial, referring to the gods in the third person.
[82:5] 202 tn Heb “walk.” The Hitpael stem indicates iterative action, picturing these ignorant “judges” as stumbling around in the darkness.
[82:5] 203 sn These gods, though responsible for justice, neglect their duty. Their self-imposed ignorance (which the psalmist compares to stumbling around in the dark) results in widespread injustice, which threatens the social order of the world (the meaning of the phrase all the foundations of the earth crumble).
[82:6] 206 sn Normally in the OT the title Most High belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El (see v. 1, as well as Isa 14:13).
[82:7] 209 tn Heb “men.” The point in the context is mortality, however, not maleness.
[82:7] 210 tn Heb “like one of the rulers.” The comparison does not necessarily imply that they are not rulers. The expression “like one of” can sometimes mean “as one of” (Gen 49:16; Obad 11) or “as any other of” (Judg 16:7, 11).
[82:8] 213 tn The translation assumes that the Qal of נָחַל (nakhal) here means “to own; to possess,” and that the imperfect emphasizes a general truth. Another option is to translate the verb as future, “for you will take possession of all the nations” (cf. NIV “all the nations are your inheritance”).
