Psalms 80:11-13

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.


tn Heb “to [the] sea.” The “sea” refers here to the Mediterranean Sea.

tn Heb “to [the] river.” The “river” is the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. Israel expanded both to the west and to the east.

sn The protective walls of the metaphorical vineyard are in view here (see Isa 5:5).

tn Heb “pluck it.”

tn The Hebrew verb כִּרְסֵם (kirsem, “to eat away; to ruin”) occurs only here in the OT.

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.