לַמְנַצֵּחַ אֶל שֹׁשַׁנִּים עֵדוּת לְאָסָף מִזְמוֹר

For the chief musician, for shoshanim, a testimony, a psalm by Asaf. As noted earlier, the term shoshanim refers to a particular melody or to a musical instrument. Perhaps this psalm is called a “testimony” because it contains elements of remembrance of past events, though it is also a prayer.

רֹעֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל הַאֲזִינָה נֹהֵג כַּצֹּאן יוֹסֵף יֹשֵׁב הַכְּרוּבִים הוֹפִיעָה

Shepherd of Israel, listen. Appear to us, You who led Joseph like a flock, You who sit enthroned above the cherubs. This verse entreats God to reveal Himself, as will be explained more fully in the following verses. The tribe of Joseph is accorded pride of place in this psalm, to the extent that the name Joseph, like Jacob or Israel, can be understood to represent the entire nation of Israel. God, in the Temple and elsewhere, is often depicted as riding on the cherubs.

לִפְנֵי אֶפְרַיִם וּבִנְיָמִן וּמְנַשֶּׁה עוֹרְרָה אֶת גְּבוּרָתֶךָ וּלְכָה לִישֻׁעָתָה לָּנוּ

Rouse Your might before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, and come to our rescue. These three tribes, all descended from Rachel, are referred to as a single unit despite the fact that, from various historical perspectives, they did not maintain close ties.

אֱלֹהִים הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ וְהָאֵר פָּנֶיךָ וְנִוָּשֵׁעָה

God, restore us. The word hashivenu, literally “return us,” in this instance means “turn toward us and save us” rather than being a request to bring us back from other lands. Shine Your countenance on us and, when You do so, we will be delivered.

ה' אֱלֹהִים צְבָאוֹת עַד מָתַי עָשַׁנְתָּ בִּתְפִלַּת עַמֶּךָ

Lord, God of hosts, for how long will You fume against the prayer of Your people? The expression “fume” is appropriate for depicting anger, as in Hebrew the common term for “wrath,” ḥaron af, is literally “burning anger.”

הֶאֱכַלְתָּם לֶחֶם דִּמְעָה וַתַּשְׁקֵמוֹ בִּדְמָעוֹת שָׁלִישׁ

You feed them the bread of tears. They weep so much and so frequently in their sorrow that it is as if their very bread is soaked with tears. Indeed, You give them their tears to drink in a threefold cup. Shalish, translated here as a “threefold cup,” is a type of measuring cup.

תְּשִׂימֵנוּ מָדוֹן לִשְׁכֵנֵינוּ וְאֹיְבֵינוּ יִלְעֲגוּ לָמוֹ

You have made us a source of strife to our neighbors, who fight with us constantly; and even when we are not the target of physical attack, our enemies mock us.

אֱלֹהִים צְבָאוֹת הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ וְהָאֵר פָּנֶיךָ וְנִוָּשֵׁעָה

The psalmist repeats his entreaty: God of hosts, restore us. Shine Your countenance on us and we will be delivered.

גֶּפֶן מִמִּצְרַיִם תַּסִּיעַ תְּגָרֵשׁ גּוֹיִם וַתִּטָּעֶהָ

What follows is a poetical-historical account of the nation of Israel, depicting them as a grapevine, an image found frequently in the words of the prophets: You transported a vine, representing the nation of Israel, from Egypt to the Land of Israel, a reference to the exodus. You drove out the Canaanite nations and planted it, Israel, there.

פִּנִּיתָ לְפָנֶיהָ וַתַּשְׁרֵשׁ שָׁרָשֶׁיהָ וַתְּמַלֵּא אָרֶץ

You cleared space for it, and it took root and spread out in all directions until it filled the land.

כָּסּוּ הָרִים צִלָּהּ וַעֲנָפֶיהָ אַרְזֵי אֵל

The mountains were covered with its shade, so tall and widespread was it; its branches were giant, like cedars of the Almighty, that is, cedars of vast proportions.

תְּשַׁלַּח קְצִירֶהָ עַד יָם וְאֶל נָהָר יוֹנְקוֹתֶיהָ

It sent its boughs westward to the Mediterranean Sea, and its shoots eastward to the river, a term that, when unspecified, generally refers to the Euphrates.

לָמָּה פָּרַצְתָּ גְדֵרֶיהָ וְאָרוּהָ כָּל עֹבְרֵי דָרֶךְ

The preceding verses depicted the era of Israel’s greatness. In the verses that follow, the psalmist describes the darker reality of his time: Why have You breached its fences, a vine’s only protection from predators, so that all who pass can pick its fruit?

יְכַרְסְמֶנָּה חֲזִיר מִיָּעַר וְזִיז שָׂדַי יִרְעֶנָּה

The boar from the forest gnaws at it; the large fowl feed on it.

אֱלֹהִים צְבָאוֹת שׁוּב נָא הַבֵּט מִשָּׁמַיִם וּרְאֵה וּפְקֹד גֶּפֶן זֹאת

The psalmist repeats his plea: God of hosts, please return. Look from heaven and see, and take note of this vine, and nurture it once again,

וכַנָּה אֲשֶׁר נָטְעָה יְמִינֶךָ וְעַל בֵּן אִמַּצְתָּה לָּךְ

and take note of the stock that Your right hand planted, and the son whom You embraced as Your own, as the Torah states of the people of Israel, “You are children to the Lord.”

שְׂרֻפָה בָאֵשׁ כְּסוּחָה מִגַּעֲרַת פָּנֶיךָ יֹאבֵדוּ

It, the vine, is burned with fire and cut down; they, Israel, perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

תְּהִי יָדְךָ עַל אִישׁ יְמִינֶךָ עַל בֶּן אָדָם אִמַּצְתָּ לָּךְ

Let Your hand sustain the man of Your right hand, the one whom You hold in Your right hand, a symbol of honor and affection, the son of man whom You embraced as Your own,

וְלֹא נָסוֹג מִמֶּךָּ תְּחַיֵּינוּ וּבְשִׁמְךָ נִקְרָא

who never retreated from You. Revive us, restore us to our past glory, and we will call in Your name.

ה' אֱלֹהִים צְבָאוֹת הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ הָאֵר פָּנֶיךָ וְנִוָּשֵׁעָה

The psalm ends with the plea of refrain: Lord, God of hosts, restore us. Shine Your countenance on us and we will be delivered.