The Bible — World English Bible
Psalm 80
In brief
Psalm 80 is a prayer of Asaph to the shepherd of Israel, asking him to restore his struggling people. A refrain returns three times, asking God to restore us, make his face shine, and save us. The psalmist tells God that his people eat the bread of tears, then retells Israel's story through the image of a vine brought out of Egypt and then laid waste. He asks God to look at it and revive it.
The chapter in 4 parts
1Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out.
2Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might! Come to save us!
3Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
4Yahweh God of Armies, how long will you be angry against the prayer of your people?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in large measure.
6You make us a source of contention to our neighbors. Our enemies laugh among themselves.
7Turn us again, God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
8You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and planted it.
9You cleared the ground for it. It took deep root, and filled the land.
10The mountains were covered with its shadow. Its boughs were like God’s cedars.
11It sent out its branches to the sea, its shoots to the River.
12Why have you broken down its walls, so that all those who pass by the way pluck it?
13The boar out of the wood ravages it. The wild animals of the field feed on it.
14Turn again, we beg you, God of Armies. Look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vine,
15the stock which your right hand planted, the branch that you made strong for yourself.
16It’s burned with fire. It’s cut down. They perish at your rebuke.
17Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, on the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.
18So we will not turn away from you. Revive us, and we will call on your name.
19Turn us again, Yahweh God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
Key verses
Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out.
The psalmist gives God a tender title, shepherd of Israel, and asks him to listen. The prayer begins by recalling who God is before saying what the people need.
Yahweh God of Armies, how long will you be angry against the prayer of your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in large measure.
The people ask their question frankly: how long? They do not hide their suffering or censor themselves before God. This honesty is part of biblical prayer.
You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and planted it. You cleared the ground for it. It took deep root, and filled the land.
The image of the vine recalls the people's story: God brought it out of Egypt, planted it and made it grow. The prayer rests on what God has already done.
Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
The refrain (repeated in verses 7 and 19) asks God to make his face shine. It is a need for his presence more than for better circumstances, and the text sees in it the source of salvation.
So we will not turn away from you. Revive us, and we will call on your name.
The people promise not to turn away from God again and ask to be revived. Restoration is seen as a gift from God, coming before the calling on his name.
Test your knowledge
Frequently asked questions about Psalm 80
What does Psalm 80 mean?
Psalm 80 is the prayer of a struggling people asking God to restore them. It uses the image of a vine that God planted and then left devastated, to say that only the one who planted can restore. Its refrain, asking God to make his face shine so that we may be saved, expresses that the real need is God's presence and favor.
What does it mean for God to make his face shine?
It is an expression inherited from the priestly blessing: may God make his face shine on you (Numbers 6:25). It means that God turns toward someone with kindness and grants them his favor. In Psalm 80, the people repeat it three times with growing insistence: God, then God of hosts, then LORD God of hosts.
How do you pray Psalm 80?
Take the refrain as a personal prayer when you are going through a season of desert or shame. Tell God sincerely what weighs on you, as the psalmist does, then remind him of what he has already done in your life. End by asking him to revive you, and receive what follows as his work rather than as an effort on your part.
Articles quoting Psalm 80
World English Bible translation — public domain.