Psalm 80-84

English Standard Version

Restore Us, O God

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Lilies. A Testimony. Of ^(B)Asaph, a Psalm.

80 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead ^(C)Joseph like ^(D)a flock.
You who are ^(E)enthroned upon the cherubim, ^(F)shine forth.
²    Before ^(G)Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
^(H)stir up your might
    and ^(I)come to save us!

³^(J)Restore us,^[a] O God;
^(K)let your face shine, that we may be saved!

⁴O ^(L)Lord God of hosts,
    ^(M)how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
⁵You have fed them with ^(N)the bread of tears
    and given them tears to drink in full measure.
⁶^(O)You make us an object of contention for our ^(P)neighbors,
    and our enemies laugh among themselves.

⁷^(Q)Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!

⁸You brought ^(R)a vine out of Egypt;
    you ^(S)drove out the nations and planted it.
⁹You ^(T)cleared the ground for it;
    it took deep root and filled the land.
¹⁰The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
¹¹It sent out its branches to ^(U)the sea
    and its shoots to ^(V)the River.^[b]
¹²Why then have you ^(W)broken down its walls,
    so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
¹³^(X)The boar from the forest ravages it,
    and all that move in the field feed on it.

¹⁴Turn again, O God of hosts!
    ^(Y)Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
¹⁵    the stock that your right hand planted,
    and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
¹⁶They have ^(Z)burned it with fire; they have ^(AA)cut it down;
    may they perish at ^(AB)the rebuke of your face!
¹⁷But ^(AC)let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
    the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
¹⁸Then we shall not turn back from you;
    ^(AD)give us life, and we will call upon your name!

¹⁹^(AE)Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me

To the choirmaster: according to ^(AF)The Gittith.^[c] Of ^(AG)Asaph.

81 ^(AH)Sing aloud to God our strength;
    ^(AI)shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
²Raise a song; sound ^(AJ)the tambourine,
    ^(AK)the sweet lyre with ^(AL)the harp.
³Blow the trumpet at ^(AM)the new moon,
    at the full moon, on our feast day.

⁴For it is a statute for Israel,
    a rule^[d] of the God of Jacob.
⁵He made it ^(AN)a decree in ^(AO)Joseph
    when he ^(AP)went out over^[e] the land of Egypt.
^(AQ)I hear a language ^(AR)I had not known:
⁶“I ^(AS)relieved your^[f] shoulder of ^(AT)the burden;
    your hands were freed from the basket.
⁷In distress you ^(AU)called, and I delivered you;
    I ^(AV)answered you in the secret place of thunder;
    I ^(AW)tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
⁸^(AX)Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
    O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
⁹There shall be no ^(AY)strange god among you;
    you shall not bow down to a ^(AZ)foreign god.
¹⁰^(BA)I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
    ^(BB)Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

¹¹“But my people did not listen to my voice;
    Israel ^(BC)would not submit to me.
¹²So I ^(BD)gave them over to their ^(BE)stubborn hearts,
    to follow their own ^(BF)counsels.
¹³^(BG)Oh, that my people would listen to me,
    that Israel would ^(BH)walk in my ways!
¹⁴I would soon subdue their enemies
    and ^(BI)turn my hand against their foes.
¹⁵Those who hate the Lord would ^(BJ)cringe toward him,
    and their fate would last forever.
¹⁶But he would feed you^[g] with ^(BK)the finest of the wheat,
    and with ^(BL)honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Rescue the Weak and Needy

A Psalm of ^(BM)Asaph.

82 ^(BN)God ^(BO)has taken his place in the divine council;
    in the midst of ^(BP)the gods he ^(BQ)holds judgment:
²“How long will you judge unjustly
    and ^(BR)show partiality to ^(BS)the wicked? Selah
³^(BT)Give justice to ^(BU)the weak and the fatherless;
    ^(BV)maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
⁴^(BW)Rescue the weak and the needy;
    ^(BX)deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

⁵^(BY)They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
^(BZ)they walk about in darkness;
^(CA)all the foundations of the earth are ^(CB)shaken.

⁶^(CC)I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
⁷nevertheless, like men ^(CD)you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”^[h]

⁸^(CE)Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall ^(CF)inherit all the nations!

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of ^(CG)Asaph.

83 O God, do not keep silence;
    ^(CH)do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
²For behold, your enemies ^(CI)make an uproar;
    those who hate you have ^(CJ)raised their heads.
³They lay ^(CK)crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your ^(CL)treasured ones.
⁴They say, “Come, ^(CM)let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
⁵For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant—
⁶the tents of ^(CN)Edom and ^(CO)the Ishmaelites,
    ^(CP)Moab and ^(CQ)the Hagrites,
⁷^(CR)Gebal and ^(CS)Ammon and ^(CT)Amalek,
    ^(CU)Philistia with the inhabitants of ^(CV)Tyre;
⁸^(CW)Asshur also has joined them;
    they are the strong arm of ^(CX)the children of Lot. Selah

⁹Do to them as you did to ^(CY)Midian,
    as to ^(CZ)Sisera and Jabin at ^(DA)the river Kishon,
¹⁰who were destroyed at ^(DB)En-dor,
    who became ^(DC)dung for the ground.
¹¹Make their nobles like ^(DD)Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like ^(DE)Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹²who said, ^(DF)“Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”

¹³O my God, make them like ^(DG)whirling dust,^[i]
    like ^(DH)chaff before the wind.
¹⁴As ^(DI)fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame ^(DJ)sets the mountains ablaze,
¹⁵so may you pursue them ^(DK)with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!
¹⁶^(DL)Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O Lord.
¹⁷Let them be ^(DM)put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
¹⁸that they may ^(DN)know that you alone,
    ^(DO)whose name is the Lord,
    are ^(DP)the Most High over all the earth.

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to ^(DQ)The Gittith.^[j] A Psalm of ^(DR)the Sons of Korah.

84 How ^(DS)lovely is your ^(DT)dwelling place,
    O Lord of hosts!
²My soul ^(DU)longs, yes, ^(DV)faints
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to ^(DW)the living God.

³Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    ^(DX)my King and my God.
⁴^(DY)Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever ^(DZ)singing your praise! Selah

⁵Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    ^(EA)in whose heart are the highways to Zion.^[k]
⁶As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    ^(EB)the early rain also covers it with ^(EC)pools.
⁷They go ^(ED)from strength to strength;
    each one ^(EE)appears before God in Zion.

⁸O ^(EF)Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
⁹^(EG)Behold our ^(EH)shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!

¹⁰For a day ^(EI)in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be ^(EJ)a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹For the Lord God is ^(EK)a sun and ^(EL)shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.
^(EM)No good thing does he withhold
    from those who ^(EN)walk uprightly.
¹²O Lord of hosts,
    ^(EO)blessed is the one who trusts in you!