77:15 You delivered 1 your people by your strength 2 –
the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)
For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; 4 a psalm of Asaph.
80:1 O shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep!
You who sit enthroned above the winged angels, 5 reveal your splendor! 6
80:2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal 7 your power!
Come and deliver us! 8
6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, 9
and pour the very best oils on themselves. 10
Yet they are not concerned over 11 the ruin 12 of Joseph.
1 tn Or “redeemed.”
2 tn Heb “with [your] arm.”
3 sn Psalm 80. The psalmist laments Israel’s demise and asks the Lord to show favor toward his people, as he did in earlier times.
4 tn The Hebrew expression shushan-eduth means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title. See the superscription to Ps 60.
5 sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
6 tn Heb “shine forth.”
5 tn Heb “stir up”; “arouse.”
6 tn Heb “come for our deliverance.”
7 sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).
8 tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”
9 tn Or “not sickened by.”
10 sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.