Psalm 80:15-17

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 80:15 tn The form וְכַנָּה (v^ekhannah, “and a root”) is understood as וְכַנָּהּ (v^ekhannah), taking the ה (he) at the end as the third feminine singular pronominal suffix הּ (he with mappiq is hard “h”) rather than as the noun ending (see HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן). Elsewhere the noun refers to a pedestal or base, most often for the wash basin between the tabernacle and the altar. Translations here vary as “root” (NIV), “shoot” (NASB), “stock” (ASV, ESV, RSV), or the contextually driven “vineyard” (KJV).
2. Psalm 80:15 tn Heb “and upon a son you strengthened for yourself.” In this context, where the extended metaphor of the vine dominates, בֵּן (ben, “son”) probably refers to the shoots that grow from the vine. Cf. Gen 49:22.
3. Psalm 80:16 tn Heb “burned with fire.”
4. Psalm 80:16 tn Heb “because of the rebuke of your face they perish.”
5. Psalm 80:17 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.)
6. Psalm 80:17 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.