A psalm of Asaph.
79:1 O God, foreigners have invaded your chosen land;
they have polluted your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.
79:2 They have given the corpses of your servants
to the birds of the sky;
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.
79:4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.
79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord?
Will you stay angry forever?
How long will your rage burn like fire?
79:6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms that do not pray to you!
79:7 For they have devoured Jacob
and destroyed his home.
79:8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations!
Quickly send your compassion our way,
for we are in serious trouble!
79:9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!
For the sake of your glorious reputation, rescue us!
Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation!
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!
79:11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners!
Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die!
79:12 Pay back our neighbors in full!
May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord!
79:13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will continually thank you.
We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts.
For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; 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, reveal your splendor!
80:2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal your power!
Come and deliver us!
80:3 O God, restore us!
Smile on us! Then we will be delivered!
80:4 O Lord God, invincible warrior!
How long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you?
80:5 You have given them tears as food;
you have made them drink tears by the measure.
80:6 You have made our neighbors dislike us,
and our enemies insult us.
80:7 O God, invincible warrior, restore us!
Smile on us! Then we will be delivered!
80:8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
80:9 You cleared the ground for it;
it took root,
and filled the land.
80:10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars by its branches.
80:11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,
and its shoots the Euphrates River.
80:12 Why did you break down its walls,
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit?
80:13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it;
the insects of the field feed on it.
80:14 O God, invincible warrior, come back!
Look down from heaven and take notice!
Take care of this vine,
80:15 the root your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow!
80:16 It is burned and cut down.
They die because you are displeased with them.
80:17 May you give support to the one you have chosen,
to the one whom you raised up for yourself!
80:18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you!
80:19 O Lord God, invincible warrior, restore us!
Smile on us! Then we will be delivered!
For the music director; according to the gittith style; by Asaph.
81:1 Shout for joy to God, our source of strength!
Shout out to the God of Jacob!
81:2 Sing 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,
and on the day of the full moon when our festival begins.
81:4 For observing the festival is a requirement for Israel;
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.
I heard a voice I did not recognize.
81:6 It said: “I removed the burden from his shoulder;
his hands were released from holding the basket.
81:7 In your distress you called out and I rescued you.
I answered you from a dark thundercloud.
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. (Selah)
81:8 I said, ‘Listen, my people!
I will warn you!
O Israel, if only you would obey me!
81:9 There must be no other 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;
Israel did not submit to me.
81:12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires;
they did what seemed right to them.
81:13 If only my people would obey me!
If only Israel would keep my commands!
81:14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,
and attack their adversaries.”
81:15 (May those who hate the Lord cower in fear before him!
May they be permanently humiliated!)
81:16 “I would feed Israel the best wheat,
and would satisfy your appetite with honey from the rocky cliffs.”