Psalm 80

Psalm 81 in the KJV and most English Bibles

Tap Fathers under a verse to read what the saints said about it.

For the end, a Psalm for Asaph, concerning the winepresses.

Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ὑπὲρ τῶν ληνῶν ψαλμὸς τῷ Ἀσάφ.

Rejoice ye in God our helper; Shout aloud to the God of Jacob.

Ἀγαλλιᾶσθε τῷ Θεῷ τῷ βοηθῷ ἡμῶν, ἀλαλάξατε τῷ Θεῷ Ἰακώβ.

Take a psalm, and produce the timbrel, The pleasant psaltery with the harp.

Λάβετε ψαλμὸν καὶ δότε τύμπανον, ψαλτήριον τερπνὸν μετὰ κιθάρας.

Blow the trumpet at the new moon, In the glorious day of your feast.

Σαλπίσατε ἐν νεομηνίᾳ σάλπιγγι, ἐν εὐσήμῳ ἡμέρᾳ ἑορτῆς ὑμῶν.

For this is an ordinance for Israel, And a statute of the God of Jacob.

Ὅτι πρόσταγμα τῷ Ἰσραήλ ἐστι, καὶ κρίμα τῷ Θεῷ Ἰακώβ.

He made it to be a testimony in Joseph, When he came forth out of the land of Egypt: He heard a language which he understood not.

Μαρτύριον ἐν τῷ Ἰωσὴφ ἔθετο αὐτὸν, ἐν τῷ ἐξελθεῖν αὐτὸν ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου· γλῶσσαν ἣν οὐκ ἔγνω, ἤκουσεν.

He removed his back from burdens: His hands slaved in making the baskets.

Ἀπέστησεν ἀπὸ ἄρσεων τὸν νῶτον αὐτοῦ· αἱ χεῖρες αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κοφίνῳ ἐδούλευσαν.

Thou didst call upon me in trouble, and I delivered thee; I heard thee in the secret place of the storm: I proved thee at the water of Strife. Pause.

Ἐν θλίψει ἐπεκαλέσω με καὶ ἐῤῥυσάμην σε· ἐπήκουσά σου ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ καταιγίδος, ἐδοκίμασά σε ἐπὶ ὕδατος ἀντιλογίας· διάψαλμα.

Hear, my people, and I will speak to thee, O Israel; And I will testify to thee: if thou wilt hearken to me;

Ἄκουσον λαός μου καὶ λαλήσω σοι, Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ διαμαρτύρομαί σοι· ἐὰν ἀκούσῃς μου,

There shall be no new god in thee; Neither shalt thou worship a strange god.

οὐκ ἔσται ἐν σοὶ θεὸς πρόσφατος, οὐδὲ προσκυνήσεις θεῷ ἀλλοτρίῳ.

For I am the Lord thy God, That brought thee out of the land of Egypt: Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, ὁ ἀναγαγών σε ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, πλάτυνον τὸ στόμα σου καὶ πληρώσω αὐτό.

But my people hearkened not to my voice; And Israel gave no heed to me.

Καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσεν ὁ λαός μου τῆς φωνῆς μου, καὶ Ἰσραὴλ οὐ προσέσχε μοι.

So I let them go after the ways of their own hearts: They will go on in their own ways.

Καὶ ἐξαπέστειλα αὐτοὺς κατὰ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα τῶν καρδιῶν αὐτῶν, πορεύσονται ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν αὐτῶν.

If my people had hearkened to me, If Israel had walked in my ways,

Εἰ ὁ λαός μου ἤκουσέ μου, Ἰσραὴλ ταῖς ὁδοῖς μου εἰ ἐπορεύθη,

I should have put down their enemies very quickly, And should have laid my hand upon those that afflicted them.

ἐν τῷ μηδενὶ ἂν τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτῶν ἐταπείνωσα, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς θλίβοντας αὐτοὺς ἐπέβαλον ἂν τὴν χεῖρά μου.

The Lord’s enemies should have lied to him: But their time shall be forever.

Οἱ ἐχθροὶ Κυρίου ἐψεύσαντο αὐτῷ, καὶ ἔσται ὁ καιρὸς αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα,

And he fed them with the fat of wheat; And satisfied them with honey out of the rock.

καὶ ἐψώμισεν αὐτοὺς ἐκ στέατος πυροῦ, καὶ ἐκ πέτρας μέλι ἐχόρτασεν αὐτούς.

About these notes

Every note is a real passage, quoted word for word from a published English translation, with its source. Nothing here is summarised or written by us. Some verses have many notes and some have none, because the Fathers wrote more on some passages than others.

Blessed Augustine, Expositions on the Book of Psalms, tr. A. Cleveland Coxe from the Oxford translation, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888).
Scripture: the Septuagint, in the translation of Sir Lancelot Brenton (1851), with spelling updated by Adam Boyd (2020); the Greek is Brenton's Septuagint text.

All of these translations are in the public domain. The passages were matched to their verses by the Historical Christian Commentaries project, which also hosts the full texts we link to. The Fathers are a treasury of the Church's mind, and they are best read alongside the life of the Church: if a passage raises a question, bring it to your priest.