Psalms 80:14

Psa 80:14 Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;

Ver. 14. Visit this vine] Some understand it of Christ’s incarnation, Luk 1:78.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. (Psa 80:14) O God, (God of) Hosts, pray return, look from heaven and see and visit this vine. The expostulation and complaint are followed by an earnest prayer. Pray return is used to represent the Hebrew particle of entreaty, expressed in the English Bible by a circumlocution (we beseech thee). The prayer that God will return, implies that the evils just complained of were occasioned by his absence. Visit, manifest thy presence and thy favourable disposition. See above, on Psa 8:4. This vine, Israel, the church or chosen people, which, though robbed of some of its luxuriant branches, still lives and is yet to bear abundant fruit.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They gave not place to tentation, knowing that albeit there were no help in earth, yet God was able to succor them from heaven.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 14. Return - O God of hosts] Thou hast abandoned us, and therefore our enemies have us in captivity. Come back to us, and we shall again be restored.

Behold, and visit this vine] Consider the state of thy own people, thy own worship, thy own temple. Look down! Let thine eye affect thy heart.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. Return, I beseech thee, O God of Hosts! In these words it is intended to teach, that we ought not to yield to temptation although God should hide his face from us for a time, yea even although to the eye of sense and reason he should seem to be alienated from us. For, provided he is sought in the confident expectation of his showing mercy, he will become reconciled, and receive into his favor those whom he seemed to have cast off. It was a distinguished honor for the seed of Abraham to be accounted the vineyard of God; but while the faithful adduce this consideration as an argument for obtaining the favor of God, instead of bringing forward any claims of their own, they only beseech him not to cease to exercise his accustomed liberality towards them. The words, from heaven, have, no doubt, been introduced, that the faithful might find no difficulty in extending their faith to a distance, although God, from whom they had departed, was far from them; and, farther that if they saw no prospect of deliverance upon earth, they might lift up their eyes to heaven.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

14. Return] Or, as R.V., Turn again. It is the intransitive form of the verb turn us again in Psa_80:3; Psa_80:7; Psa_80:19.

14–19. Repeated prayers for the restoration of God’s favour to Israel.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted,.... The word "Cannah" is only used in this place, and the first letter of it is larger than usual, to keep in perpetual remembrance, as is thought by some (t), the bringing of this vine out of Egypt, and the great things done for it in the land of Israel; and the letter, being crooked, may denote the oppression of this vine by various calamities. The Targum renders the word, a branch or shoot; and Kimchi, according to the scope of the place, a plant; and observes, that others interpret it an habitation or dwelling place; and so may be understood of Jerusalem, or the temple. Aben Ezra takes it to be an adjective, and to signify "prepared" or "established", which is said of this vine, Psa 80:9. It is an Egyptian word used by the psalmist, treating of the vine brought out of Egypt, and signifies a plant; hence the ivy is by the Greeks called the plant of Osiris (u); the clause carries in it a reason or argument, enforcing the above petition, taken from this vine being of the Lord's planting, as in Psa 80:8 and therefore his own honour and glory were concerned in it:

and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself: meaning the same thing, and the same people whom he confirmed in the land of Canaan, and made strong for his service and glory. The word (w) translated "branch" signifies a son, as Israel was, to the Lord, son and firstborn. The Targum understands it of Christ, and paraphrases it thus,

"and for the King Messiah, whom thou hast strengthened for thyself;''

that is, for the sake of Christ, whom thou hast appointed to work out the salvation of thy people by his great strength, and who was to come from this vine, or descend from Israel; for the sake of him destroy it not, nor suffer it to be destroyed; and is the same with the Son of man, Psa 80:17, and so it is read in a manuscript.

(t) Vid. Buxtorf. Tiberias, c. 14. (u) Plutarch de lsid. & Osir. (w) "super filium", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus; "propter filium", Junius & Tremellius, Michaelis.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts - Again come and visit thy people; come back again to thy forsaken land. This is language founded on the idea that God had withdrawn from the land, or had forsaken it; that he had left his people without a protector, and had left them exposed to the ravages of fierce foreign enemies. It is language which will describe what seems often to occur when the church is apparently forsaken; when there are no cheering tokens of the divine presence; and when the people of God, discouraged, seem themselves to be forsaken by him. Compare Jer 14:8.

Look down from heaven - The habitation of God. As if he did not now see his desolate vineyard, or regard it. The idea is, that if he would look upon it, he would pity it, and would come to its relief.

And behold, and visit this vine - It is a visitation of mercy and not of wrath that is asked; the coming of one who is able to save, and without whose coming there could be no deliverance.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 14. Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts. Turn thyself to us as well as us to thee. Thou hast gone from us because of our sins, come back to us, for we sigh and cry after thee. Or, if it be too much to ask thee to come then do at least give us some consideration and cast an eye upon our griefs.

Look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine. Do not close thine eyes; it is thy vine, do not utterly turn away from it as though it were quite gone from thy mind. Great Husbandman, at least note the mischief which the beasts have done, for then it may be thy heart will pity, and thy hand will be outstretched to deliver.

Ver. 8-19. See Psalms on "Ps 80:8" for further information.

Ver. 14. Look down from heaven, and behold. This prayer is fit for none but the truly contrite, and those who are in heart returning. Otherwise, with what conscience could we entreat God to look down from heaven and behold our affairs? Should we not inflame his anger all the more, if, besides living in sin, we dared to challenge the all holy eyes of God to behold from heaven our wickedness? Musculus.

Ver. 14. Look down from heaven. Thou hast gone far from us, thou hast ascended to heaven. Thou hast departed from us, look down at least upon us from heaven, if thou art not willing to descend to earth, if our sins do not merit this. Savonarola.

Ver. 14. Visit this vine. Still it has roots, still some branches are living. In the beginning of the world it began, and never has failed, and never will. For thou hast said, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. It may be diminished, it can never utterly fall. This vine is the vine which thou hast planted. There is one spirit, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Lord of all, who is all in all. Visit, then, this vine, for thy visitation preserves her spirit; visit by thy grace, by thy presence, by thy Holy Spirit. Visit with thy rod, and with thy staff; for thy rod and thy staff comfort her. Visit with thy scourge that she may be chastened and purified, for the time of pruning comes. Cast out the stones, gather up the dry branches, and bind them in bundles for burning. Raise her up, cut off the superfluous shoots, make fast her supports, enrich the soil, build up the fence, and visit this vine, as now thou visitest the earth and watereth it. Savonarola.

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts; i.e. "come back to us, to be our Helper and Defender." Look down from heaven, and behold. Condescend to "look down" upon us "from heaven," thy dwelling place, and "behold take note of our condition, see how we suffer, and thou wilt be sure to visit this vine; i.e. to "visit" it, not in wrath, but in loving kindness and compassion to "visit it with thy salvation". (Psa_106:4)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Asaph finishes speaking of Israel in their land as if Israel were a grapevine in a vineyard.

Turn back

The writer wants God to turn back in order to help them. This can be stated explicitly. AT: "Turn back to us" or "Come and help us again" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

take notice

"look at"

this vine

The writer continues comparing the nation of Israel to the vine. (See: Metaphor)

This is the root that your right hand planted

The right hand represents the Yahweh's power and control. AT: "This is the root that you, Yahweh, planted" (See: Metonymy)

shoot

the part of a new plant that is just starting to grow above the ground. See how you translated this in Psalms 80:11.

down; they perish because of your rebuke

Possible meanings are 1) "down; your people perish because of your rebuke." or 2) "down. May your enemies perish because of your rebuke!"

translationWords

turn

Yahweh of hosts

heaven

right hand

perish

rebuke

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

The boar from the forest gnaws at it Heb. יכרסמנה, as (Peah 2:7): “A field that the ants have nibbled (קרסמוה),” an expression of plucking out.

from the forest Heb. מיער. The “ayin” is suspended (as though it were written with an “aleph”). If Israel is worthy, the enemies are like the beasts of the river, which have no strength to climb out upon the dry land; but when retribution is decreed upon them, he (sic) grows strong as the beast of the forest, which destroys and kills. The boar of the forest is Esau, as is written (Dan. 7:7): “It devoured and broke in pieces and the rest it trampled with its feet.” And it (the swine) has some signs of purity. Esau, too, has the merit of his fathers.

and the creeping things of the field Heb. זיז, all creeping things of the field. The expression זיז means anything that constantly moves from its place.

graze upon it Graze upon it and its branches and eat them.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.