‏ Psalms 80:8-16

8You uprooted a vine ▼
▼sn The vine is here a metaphor for Israel (see Ezek 17:6-10; Hos 10:1).
from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
9You cleared the ground for it; ▼
▼tn Heb “you cleared away before it.”

it took root ▼
▼tn Heb “and it took root [with] its roots.”

and filled the land.
10The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars ▼
▼tn Heb “cedars of God.” The divine name אֵל (ʾel, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.
by its branches.
11Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea, ▼
▼tn Heb “to [the] sea.” The “sea” refers here to the Mediterranean Sea.

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

12Why did you break down its walls, ▼
▼sn The protective walls of the metaphorical vineyard are in view here (see Isa 5:5).

so that all who pass by pluck its fruit? ▼
▼tn Heb “pluck it.”

13The wild boars of the forest ruin it; ▼
▼tn The Hebrew verb כִּרְסֵם (kirsem, “to eat away; to ruin”) occurs only here in the OT.

the insects ▼
▼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.
of the field feed on it.
14O God of Heaven’s Armies, ▼
▼tn Heb “O God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsevaʾot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ʾelohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsevaʾot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also vv. 4, 7 for a similar construction.
come back.
Look down from heaven and take notice.
Take care of this vine,
15the root ▼
▼tn The form וְכַנָּה (vekhannah, “and a root”) is understood as וְכַנָּהּ (vekhannah), taking the ה (he) at the end as the third feminine singular pronominal suffix הּ (he with mappiq is hard “h”) rather than as the noun ending (see HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן). Elsewhere the noun refers to a pedestal or base, most often for the wash basin between the tabernacle and the altar. Translations here vary as “root” (NIV), “shoot” (NASB), “stock” (ASV, ESV, RSV), or the contextually driven “vineyard” (KJV).
your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow. ▼
▼tn Heb “and upon a son you strengthened for yourself.” In this context, where the extended metaphor of the vine dominates, בֵּן (ben, “son”) probably refers to the shoots that grow from the vine. Cf. Gen 49:22.

16It is burned ▼
▼tn Heb “burned with fire.”
and cut down.
May those who did this die because you are displeased with them. ▼
▼tn Heb “because of the rebuke of your face they perish.”

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