A psalm written by Asaph for the choir director, to be sung using the tune ‘Lilies of the covenant’

1Yahweh, you who lead us like a shepherd leads his flock of sheep,
listen to us Israeli people.
You sit on your throne in the Very Holy Place in the temple, above the carvings of winged creatures.

2Show yourself to the people of the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh! Show us that you are powerful
and come and rescue us!

3God, cause our nation to be strong like it was before; be kind to us [IDM] in order that we may be saved from our enemies.

4Yahweh, you who are the commander of the armies of heaven, how long will you be angry with us, your people, when we pray to you?

5It is as though the only food and drink that you have given us is a cup full of our tears!

6You have allowed the people-groups that surround us to fight with each other to decide which part of our land each of them will take; our enemies laugh at us.

7God, commander of the armies of heaven, cause our nation to be strong like it was before! Be kind to us in order that we may be saved!

8Our ancestors were like a grapevine [MET] that you brought out of Egypt;
you expelled the other people-groups from this land, and you put your people in their land.

9Like people clear ground to plant a grapevine [MET],
you cleared out the people who were living in this land for us to live in it.
Like the roots of a grapevine go deep down into the ground and spread [MET], you enabled our ancestors to prosper and start living in towns all over this land.

10Like huge grapevines cover the hills with their shade and their branches are taller than big cedar trees [MET, HYP],

11your people ruled all of Canaan, from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Euphrates River in the east.

12So why have you abandoned us and allowed our enemies to tear down our walls [RHQ]? You are like someone who tears down the fences around his vineyard, with the result that all the people who pass by can steal the grapes,

13and wild pigs can trample the vines,
and wild animals can also eat the grapes.

14You who are the commander of the armies of heaven, ◄turn to/stop abandoning► us! Look down from heaven and see what is happening to us! Come and rescue us who are like [MET] your grapevine,

15who are like the young vine that you [SYN] planted and caused to grow!

16Our enemies have torn down and burned everything in our land; look at them angrily and get rid of them!

17But strengthen us people whom you have chosen [IDM], us Israeli people whom you previously caused to be very strong.

18When you do that, we will never turn away from you again; ◄revive us/cause us to be again like we were previously►, and then we will praise/worship you.

19Yahweh, commander of the armies of heaven, restore us; be kind to us in order that we may be rescued from our enemies!