Psalms 79
Old Testament · Brenton Septuagint with Greek parallel
Psalms chapter 79 is given here in full, verse by verse, in Sir Lancelot Brenton's classic English translation of the Septuagint (LXX), with the Greek text of the Septuagint set beneath each verse. The text follows the Septuagint tradition received throughout the Orthodox Church.
10 patristic excerpts are attached to this chapter, from Saint Augustine of Hippo. The translator's notes for this chapter (2) follow the text.
Psalms 79
1(80) For the * end, for alternate strains, a testimony for Asaph, a Psalm concerning the Assyrian.Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων, μαρτύριον τῷ Ἀσὰφ, ψαλμὸς ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ἀσσυρίου.
2Attend, O Shepherd of Israel, who guide Joseph like a flock; you who sit upon the cherubs, manifest yourself;Ὁ Ποιμαίνων τὸν Ἰσραὴλ πρόσχες, ὁ ὁδηγῶν ὡσεὶ πρόβατα τὸν Ἰωσήφ· ὁ καθήμενος ἐπὶ τῶν χερουβὶμ ἐμφάνηθι,
3before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasse, stir up your power, and come to deliver us.ἐναντίον Ἐφραὶμ καὶ Βενιαμὶν καὶ Μανασσῆ· ἐξέγειρον τὴν δυναστείαν σου καὶ ἐλθὲ εἰς τὸ σῶσαι ἡμᾶς.
4Turn us, O God, and cause your face to shine; and we shall be delivered.Ὁ Θεὸς ἐπίστρεψον ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἐπίφανον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου, καὶ σωθησόμεθα.
5O Lord God of hosts, how long are you angry with the prayer of your servant?Κύριε ὁ Θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων, ἕως πότε ὀργίζῃ ἐπὶ τὴν προσευχὴν τοῦ δούλου σου;
6You will feed us with bread of tears; and will cause us to drink tears by measure.Ψωμιεῖς ἡμᾶς ἄρτον δακρύων, καὶ ποτιεῖς ἡμᾶς ἐν δάκρυσιν ἐν μέτρῳ.
7You have made us a strife to our neighbors; and our enemies have mocked at us.Ἔθου ἡμᾶς εἰς ἀντιλογίαν τοῖς γείτοσιν ἡμῶν, καὶ οἱ ἐχθροὶ ἡμῶν ἐμυκτήρισαν ἡμᾶς.
8Turn us, O Lord God of hosts, and cause your face to shine; and we shall be saved. Pause.Κύριε ὁ Θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων ἐπίστρεψον ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἐπίφανον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου, καὶ σωθησόμεθα· διάψαλμα.
9You have transplanted a vine out of Egypt: you have cast out the heathen, and planted it.Ἄμπελον ἐξ Αἰγύπτου μετῇρας, ἐξέβαλες ἔθνη καὶ κατεφύτευσας αὐτήν.
10You made a way before it, and did cause its roots to strike, and the land was filled with it.Ὡδοποίησας ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῆς, καὶ κατεφύτευσας τὰς ῥίζας αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐπλήσθη ἡ γῆ.
11Its shadow covered the mountains, and its shoots equalled the † goodly cedars.Ἐκάλυψεν ὄρη ἡ σκιὰ αὐτῆς, καὶ αἱ ἀναδενδράδες αὐτῆς τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Θεοῦ.
12It sent forth its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the river.Ἐξέτεινε τὰ κλήματα αὐτῆς ἕως θαλάσσης, καὶ ἕως ποταμοῦ τὰς παραφυάδας αὐτῆς.
13Therefore have you broken down its hedge, while all that pass by the way pluck it?Ἱνατί καθεῖλες τὸν φραγμὸν αὐτῆς, καὶ τρυγῶσιν αὐτὴν πάντες οἱ παραπορευόμενοι τὴν ὁδόν;
14The boar out of the wood has laid it waste, and the wild beast has devoured it.Ἐλυμῄνατο αὐτὴν σῦς ἐκ δρυμοῦ, καὶ μονιὸς ἄγριος κατενεμήσατο αὐτήν.
15O God of hosts, turn, we pray you: look on us from heaven, and behold and visit this vine;Ὁ Θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων ἐπίστρεψον δὴ, ἐπίβλεψον ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἴδε, καὶ ἐπίσκεψαι τὴν ἄμπελον ταύτην·
16and restore that which your right hand has planted: and look on the son of man whom you did strengthen for yourself.Καὶ κατάρτισαι αὐτὴν, ἣν ἐφύτευσεν ἡ δεξιά σου, καὶ ἐπὶ υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου ὃν ἐκραταίωσας σεαυτῷ.
17It is burnt with fire and dug up: they shall perish at the rebuke of your ‡ presence.Ἐμπεπυρισμένη πυρὶ καὶ ἀνεσκαμμένη· ἀπὸ ἐπιτιμήσεως τοῦ προσώπου σου ἀπολοῦνται.
18Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, and upon the son of man whom you did strengthen for yourself.Γενηθήτω ἡ χείρ σου ἐπʼ ἄνδρα δεξιᾶς σου, καὶ ἐπὶ υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου, ὃν ἐκραταίωσας σεαυτῷ.
19So will we not depart from you: you shall quicken us, and we will call upon your name.Καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποστῶμεν ἀπὸ σοῦ, ζωώσεις ἡμᾶς, καὶ τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐπικαλεσόμεθα.
20Turn us, O Lord God of hosts, and make your face to shine; and we shall be saved.Κύριε ὁ Θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων ἐπίστρεψον ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἐπίφανον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου, καὶ σωθησόμεθα.
Translator's Notes
These notes come from the printed edition of Sir Lancelot Brenton's classic English translation of the Septuagint (LXX), and record where the Greek differs from the English rendering or admits more than one reading.
- v. 10†Gr. Cedars of God, see Gen. 30:8; Jonah 3:3; Acts 7:20.
- v. 16‡Gr. See Ps. 20:9. * 80: Alex. David.
The Fathers on Psalms 79
Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this chapter. Each excerpt below is drawn from the full text held in the Fathers Library; follow the link on any entry to read the whole work.
On Psalms 79:2–3Saint Augustine of Hippo2. What is, “Thou that feedest Israel, hearken, Thou that conducteth Joseph like sheep”? (ver. 1). He is being invoked to come, He is being expected until He come, He is being yearned for until He come. Therefore may He find “men guiding:” “Thou that conductest,” he saith, “Joseph like sheep:” Joseph himself like sheep. Joseph himself are the sheep, and Joseph himself is a sheep. Observe Joseph; for although even…
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On Psalms 79:4Saint Augustine of Hippo3. “O God, convert us.” For averse we have been from Thee, and except Thou convert us, we shall not be converted. “And illumine Thy face, and we shall be saved” (ver. 3). Hath He anywise a darkened face? He hath not a darkened face, but He placed before it a cloud of flesh, and as it were a veil of weakness; and when He hung on the tree, He was not thought the Same as He was after to be acknowledged when He was…
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On Psalms 79:5–6Saint Augustine of Hippo4. “O Lord God of virtues, how long wilt Thou be angry with the prayer of Thy servant?” (ver. 4). Now Thy servant. Thou wast angry at the prayer of Thy enemy, wilt Thou still be angry with the prayer of Thy servant? Thou hast converted us, we know Thee, and wilt Thou still be angry with the prayer of Thy servant? Thou wilt evidently be angry, in fact, as a father correcting, not as a judge condemning. In such…
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On Psalms 79:7–9Saint Augustine of Hippo5. “Thou hast set us for a contradiction to our neighbours” (ver. 6). Evidently this did come to pass: for out of Asaph were chosen they that should go to the Gentiles and preach Christ, and should have it said to them, “Who is this proclaimer of new demons?” “Thou hast set us for a contradiction to our neighbours.” For they were preaching Him who was the subject of the contradiction. Whom did they preach? That…
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On Psalms 79:10–12Saint Augustine of Hippo6. “A way Thou hast made in the sight of her, and hast planted the roots of her, and she hath filled the land” (ver. 9). Would she have filled the land, unless a way had been made in the sight of her? What was the way which was made in the sight of her? “I am,” He saith, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” With reason she hath filled the land. That hath now been said of this vineyard, which hath been accomplished…
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On Psalms 79:13Saint Augustine of Hippo7. Then what? “Wherefore hast Thou thrown down her enclosure?” (ver. 12). Now ye see the overthrow of that nation of the Jews: already out of another Psalm ye have heard, “with axe and hammer they have thrown her down.” When could this have been done, except her enclosure had been thrown down. What is her enclosure? Her defence. For she bore herself proudly against her planter. The servants that were sent to her…
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On Psalms 79:14Saint Augustine of Hippo8. “There hath laid her waste the boar from the wood” (ver. 13). In the boar from the wood what do we understand? To the Jews a swine is an abomination, and in a swine they imagine as it were the uncleanness of the Gentiles. But by the Gentiles was overthrown the nation of the Jews: but that king who overthrew, was not only an unclean swine, but was also a boar. For what is a boar but a savage swine, a furious…
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On Psalms 79:15–16Saint Augustine of Hippo9. But with what profit is this? “O God of virtues turn Thou nevertheless” (ver. 14). Although these things have been done, “Turn Thou nevertheless.” “Look from heaven and see, and visit this vineyard.” “And perfect Thou her whom Thy right hand hath planted” (ver. 15). No other plant Thou, but this make Thou perfect. For she is the very seed of Abraham, she is the very seed in whom all nations shall be blessed:…
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On Psalms 79:17Saint Augustine of Hippo10. “Things burned with fire, and dug up, by the rebuke of Thy countenance shall perish” (ver. 16). What are the things burned with fire and dug up which shall perish from the rebuke of His countenance? Let us see and perceive what are the things burned with fire and dug up. Christ hath rebuked what? Sins: by the rebuke of His countenance sins have perished. Why then are sins burned with fire and dug up? Of all…
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On Psalms 79:18–20Open Psalms 79 in the interactive reader Switch translations, hear the chapter read aloud, tap any verse for its patristic commentary, and study the Greek word by word.Saint Augustine of Hippo11. “Let Thy hand be upon the Man of Thy right hand, and upon the Son of Man whom Thou hast strengthened Thyself” (ver. 17). “And we depart not from Thee.…Thou wilt quicken us, and Thy Name we will invoke” (ver. 18). Thou shalt be sweet to us, “Thou wilt quicken us.” For aforetime we did love earth, not Thee: but Thou hast mortified our members which are upon the earth. For the Old Testament, having earthly…
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