80:8 You uprooted a vine 1 from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
80:9 You cleared the ground for it; 2
it took root, 3
and filled the land.
80:10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars 4 by its branches.
80:11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea, 5
and its shoots the Euphrates River. 6
1 sn The vine is here a metaphor for Israel (see Ezek 17:6-10; Hos 10:1).
2 tn Heb “you cleared away before it.”
3 tn Heb “and it took root [with] its roots.”
4 tn Heb “cedars of God.” The divine name אֵל (’al, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.
5 tn Heb “to [the] sea.” The “sea” refers here to the Mediterranean Sea.
6 tn Heb “to [the] river.” The “river” is the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. Israel expanded both to the west and to the east.