Psalm 80 (A Chapter a Day)

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.

¹ Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock;
you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

² before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
come and save us.

³ Restore us, O God;
make your face shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

⁴ O LORD God Almighty,
how long will your anger smolder
against the prayers of your people?

⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.

⁶ You have made us a source of contention to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.

⁷ Restore us, O God Almighty;
make your face shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

⁸ You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.

⁹ You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.

¹⁰ The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.

¹¹ It sent out its boughs to the Sea, ^[a]
its shoots as far as the River. ^[b]

¹² Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its grapes?

¹³ Boars from the forest ravage it
and the creatures of the field feed on it.

¹⁴ Return to us, O God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,

¹⁵ the root your right hand has planted,
the son ^[c] you have raised up for yourself.

¹⁶ Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
at your rebuke your people perish.

¹⁷ Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

¹⁸ Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.

¹⁹ Restore us, O LORD God Almighty;
make your face shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

Psalm 79 (A Chapter a Day)

A psalm of Asaph.

¹ O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.

² They have given the dead bodies of your servants
as food to the birds of the air,
the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth.

³ They have poured out blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury the dead.

⁴ We are objects of reproach to our neighbors,
of scorn and derision to those around us.

⁵ How long, O LORD ? Will you be angry forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?

⁶ Pour out your wrath on the nations
that do not acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name;

⁷ for they have devoured Jacob
and destroyed his homeland.

⁸ Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers;
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.

⁹ Help us, O God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.

¹⁰ Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Before our eyes, make known among the nations
that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.

¹¹ May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
by the strength of your arm
preserve those condemned to die.

¹² Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times
the reproach they have hurled at you, O Lord.

¹³ Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
we will recount your praise.

New International Version (NIV)Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica