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Psalm 80 Bible study: Turn us again

The WEB's branch in 80:15 is ben, son, and "the branch that you made strong for yourself" (80:15) and "the son of man whom you made strong for yourself" (80:17) end with the same Hebrew verb and for yourself. And each time the line "Turn us again" comes, the name grows: God, God of Armies, LORD God of Armies.

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“Turn us again, LORD God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.”
Psalm 80:19 · World English Bible

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“The third time Psalm 80's line "Turn us again" comes, it calls on the LORD God of Armies.”

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What's really going on

One line, three times, and a name that grows

In the text

Three times the psalm stops on the same line. "Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved" (80:3). "Turn us again, God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved" (80:7). "Turn us again, LORD God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved" (80:19) (tap Turn, shine, face, saved, Armies). Here is what almost everyone misses: only the name changes, and each time it is longer. First God, then God of Armies, then LORD God of Armies, and the Hebrew has the same three names in the same order. The WEB has the words "Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved" in these three verses and nowhere else. In Hebrew Turn us again is one word, hashivenu: the verb shuv, which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "turn back, return", in the form it gives as "cause to return, bring back", with us joined to it. The people ask God to bring them back.

Honest questions

Questions people ask about Psalm 80

That was a taste

The rest of Psalm 80 is waiting in Favor

  • God asked to turn, and a promise not to turn away
  • From a flock to a vine
  • The shining face, and another shining
  • A wall broken down in Isaiah
  • 7 questions as you read
  • 14 more Hebrew words
  • A short check at the end
  • Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it

שׁוּבshuvsay SHOOV

Brown-Driver-Briggs: "turn back, return", and in the form used in the refrain, "cause to return, bring back". Strong's: "to turn back". "Turn us again, God" (80:3): in Hebrew Turn us again is one word, hashivenu, with us joined to the verb, and it is the same word each time the line comes (80:3, 80:7, 80:19). Once the psalm says the verb to God with no us: "Turn again, we beg you, God of Armies" (80:14). The turn away of "So we will not turn away from you" (80:18) is another verb, sug (tap turn away). The Psalms have shuv 71 times in Hebrew.

For your group

Psalm 80 Bible study questions

  1. 1Three times the psalm prays, "Turn us again" (80:3, 80:7, 80:19), asking God to bring his people back. Where in your life would you pray that for yourself?
  2. 2"You have fed them with the bread of tears" (80:5). The psalm says hard things to God plainly. What would you find hard to say to God that plainly?
  3. 3Before it asks God to "visit this vine" (80:14), the psalm tells him what he did for it (80:8-11). What has God done that you would want to remember before you ask him for help?

Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 80 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.

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Questions

What is Favor?

Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home