BIBLE CHAPTER STUDY
Psalms 80 — The Vineyard Plea for Restoration
Asaph pleads with the Shepherd of Israel enthroned above the cherubim to revive His vine, calling three times for God's face to shine so that the people may be saved.
Scripture
1For the Chief Musician; set to Shoshannim Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph. Give ea, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest above the cherubim, shine forth.
2Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up thy might, And come to save us.
3Turn us again, O God; And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
4O Jehovah God of hosts, How long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?
5Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in large measure.
6Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbors; And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7Turn us again, O God of hosts; And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
8Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt: Thou didst drive out the nations, and plantedst it.
9Thou preparedst room before it, And it took deep root, and filled the land.
10The mountains were covered with the shadow of it, And the boughs thereof were like cedars of God.
11It sent out its branches unto the sea, And its shoots unto the River.
12Why hast thou broken down its walls, So that all they that pass by the way do pluck it?
13The boar out of the wood doth ravage it, And the wild beasts of the field feed on it.
14Turn again, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: Look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine,
15And the stock which thy right hand planted, And the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
16It is burned with fire, it is cut down: They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
17Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, Upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
18So shall we not go back from thee: Quicken thou us, and we will call upon thy name.
19Turn us again, O Jehovah God of hosts; Cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
What this passage means
The psalm opens by addressing God as the Shepherd of Israel who leads Joseph like a flock and is enthroned above the cherubim, a title tied to the ark and to God's presence between the winged figures (verses 1–2). The opening image of God as shepherd sets up the second image of the people as a vine that was brought out of Egypt, planted among the nations, and given room to grow until its shade covered the mountains and its branches reached the Sea and the River (verses 8–11).
The turning point comes in verse 12, where the psalmist asks why God has broken down the walls of the vineyard so that passersby plunder it and the boar and wild beasts feed on it (verses 12–13). The vine, once flourishing, is now exposed and ravaged, and the prayer shifts from recounting past grace to pleading for renewed visitation: 'Look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine' (verse 14).
Three times the refrain 'Turn us again… cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved' rings out (verses 3, 7, 19), framing the psalm between repeated cries for restoration. The closing verses ask that God's hand be upon 'the man of thy right hand, the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself' (verse 17), so that the people will not turn back from Him, and ending once more with the same plea for God's face to shine.
Context
The psalm is attributed to Asaph and directed to the Chief Musician with the liturgical marker 'Shoshannim Eduth,' indicating a sung, formal setting. The repeated tribal names Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh in verse 2 point to the northern worship tradition, which fits Asaph's Levitical association. The psalm's structure moves from invocation (vv. 1–2) to refrain (v. 3), lament over present distress (vv. 4–6), second refrain (v. 7), recollection of the vine's past glory (vv. 8–11), complaint over its devastation (vv. 12–13), intercession for visitation (vv. 14–17), and final plea (vv. 18–19).
The refrain 'Turn us again… cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved' appears three times and is echoed in the provided cross references: Lamentations 5:21 ('Turn thou us unto thee, O Jehovah'), Numbers 6:25–26 (the Aaronic blessing asking God to make His face shine), and Psalms 85:4 ('Turn us, O God of our salvation'). The vine metaphor also recurs in Psalms 44:2, which describes God driving out nations and planting His people.
Key words in the original
- H7473 The Hebrew רֹעֵה (rōʿēh, 'shepherd') in verse 1 frames God as the one who pastures Israel. The same root underlies the image of the people as a flock (צֹּאן, verse 2) and reappears in cross references like Psalms 77:20, which describes God's leading 'thy people like a flock.'
- H3742 The Hebrew כְּרוּבִים (kərûḇiym, 'cherubim') in verse 1 points to the ark-cover imagery where God 'sitteth above the cherubim,' a phrase tying the psalm to the sanctuary and to God's covenant presence above the mercy seat.
- H3444 The Hebrew יְשׁוּעָה (yəšûʿāh, 'salvation') underlies the refrain 'we shall be saved' (verses 3, 7, 19). The verb form is essentially identical to the personal name Yeshua/Jesus, making the repeated cry 'cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved' a liturgical plea for divine saving action.
Related verses
- Lamentations 5:21 Lamentations 5:21 supplies a near-parallel to the psalm's refrain 'Turn us again': both texts use the verb 'turn' directed at God himself as the precondition for restoration, framing repentance not merely as a human decision but as a divine act of turning the people back.
- Numbers 6:25 Numbers 6:25 contains the Aaronic blessing 'Jehovah make his face to shine upon thee,' the very petition echoed in 'cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved' (Ps 80:3, 7, 19). The repetition binds Israel's liturgical life, priestly blessing, and royal lament into one cry for divine favor.
- Psalms 44:2 Psalms 44:2 supplies the historical background for the vine image in Psalms 80:8–11: 'Thou didst drive out the nations… them thou didst plant.' Asaph's vine language thus draws on a shared national confession of God clearing the land and rooting His people in it.
Common questions
Why is the refrain 'Turn us again… cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved' repeated three times?
The threefold refrain at verses 3, 7, and 19 brackets the psalm: each new section of lament or recollection ends with the same plea, emphasizing that Israel's hope for salvation depends entirely on God turning toward them and showing His face.
Who are the tribes named in verse 2 (Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh)?
These are the three tribes associated with the northern worship tradition: Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph's sons, and Benjamin was their southern neighbor. Mentioning them together reflects a tribal gathering for intercession rather than a single geographic location.
What is the vine in verses 8–16?
The vine is Israel itself: God brought it out of Egypt, planted it among the nations, and gave it room to fill the land (vv. 8–11). The broken walls and the boar from the forest (vv. 12–13) picture Israel as an unprotected vineyard overrun by enemies, which is why the psalmist asks God to 'visit this vine' (v. 14).