Psalms 80:17-19

80:17 May you give support to the one you have chosen, ¹ 

to the one whom you raised up for yourself! ² 

80:18 Then we will not turn away from you.

Revive us and we will pray to you! ³ 

80:19 O Lord God, invincible warrior, ⁴  restore us!

Smile on us! ⁵  Then we will be delivered! ⁶ 

[80:17]  ¹ tn Heb “may your hand be upon the man of your right hand.” The referent of the otherwise unattested phrase “man of your right hand,” is unclear. It may refer to the nation collectively as a man. (See the note on the word “yourself” in v. 17b.)

[80:17]  ² tn Heb “upon the son of man you strengthened for yourself.” In its only other use in the Book of Psalms, the phrase “son of man” refers to the human race in general (see Ps 8:4). Here the phrase may refer to the nation collectively as a man. Note the use of the statement “you strengthened for yourself” both here and in v. 15, where the “son” (i.e., the branch of the vine) refers to Israel.

[80:18]  ³ tn Heb “and in your name we will call.”

[80:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “O Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also vv. 4, 7, 14 for a similar construction.

[80:19]  ⁵ tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[80:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.