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Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!
Psalms 80:1 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm by Asaph. Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out.
  • KJV Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
  • BSB For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph. Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
  • NASB Listen, Shepherd of Israel, Who leads Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
  • NLT Please listen, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph’s descendants like a flock. O God, enthroned above the cherubim, display your radiant glory

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Asaph calls on God, the Shepherd of Israel enthroned above the cherubim, to shine forth and save. It is a plea for God's saving presence to be revealed.

Overview

The psalm opens by invoking God as 'Shepherd of Israel' who leads Joseph and is enthroned 'above the cherubim,' a reference to His presence over the ark. The prayer asks Him to 'shine out,' to manifest His glory and deliverance. This longing for God to reveal His saving face is answered in Christ, in whom the glory of God shines (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 36

  • Rev 21:23The city has no need for the sun, neither of the moon, to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
  • Ps 77:20You led your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
  • Ps 50:2Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines out.
  • Ps 99:1Yahweh reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He sits enthroned among the cherubim. Let the earth be moved.
  • 1 Pet 2:25For you were going astray like sheep; but now have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
  • Ps 80:7Turn us again, God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
  • Ezek 34:23I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
  • Isa 63:11Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, “Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put his Holy Spirit among them?”
  • 2 Sam 6:2David arose, and went with all the people who were with him, from Baale Judah, to bring up from there God’s ark, which is called by the Name, even the name of Yahweh of Armies who sits above the cherubim.
  • 1 Sam 4:4So the people sent to Shiloh; and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of Armies, who sits above the cherubim: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
  • Ezek 10:4Yahweh’s glory mounted up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of Yahweh’s glory.
  • Isa 60:1“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you.
  • Ps 23:1–2A Psalm by David. Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
  • Heb 13:20Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus,
  • Isa 49:9–10saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights.
  • John 10:3–4The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
  • Ps 78:52But he led out his own people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
  • Ps 45:1For the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A contemplation by the sons of Korah. A wedding song. My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.
  • Ps 69:1For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Lilies.” By David. Save me, God, for the waters have come up to my neck!
  • Ps 78:67Moreover he rejected the tent of Joseph, and didn’t choose the tribe of Ephraim,
  • Ps 80:19Turn us again, Yahweh God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
  • Ps 80:3Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
  • Job 10:3Is it good to you that you should oppress, that you should despise the work of your hands, and smile on the counsel of the wicked?
  • Dan 9:17Now therefore, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant, and to his petitions, and cause your face to shine on your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.
  • Ezek 43:2Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shined with his glory.
  • John 10:14I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own;
  • Deut 33:2He said, “Yahweh came from Sinai, and rose from Seir to them. He shone from Mount Paran. He came from the ten thousands of holy ones. At his right hand was a fiery law for them.
  • Ps 5:1For the Chief Musician, with the flutes. A Psalm by David. Give ear to my words, Yahweh. Consider my meditation.
  • Ps 94:1Yahweh, you God to whom vengeance belongs, you God to whom vengeance belongs, shine out.
  • Ps 55:1For the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A contemplation by David. Listen to my prayer, God. Don’t hide yourself from my supplication.
  • 1 Pet 5:4When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.
  • Ezek 1:13As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches: the fire went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and lightning went out of the fire.
  • Ps 60:1For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.” A teaching poem by David, when he fought with Aram Naharaim and with Aram Zobah, and Joab returned, and killed twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt. God, you have rejected us. You have broken us down. You have been angry. Restore us, again.
  • Isa 40:11He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young.
  • Exod 25:20–22The cherubim shall spread out their wings upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another. The faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.
  • 2 Kgs 19:15Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sit above the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 80:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 80:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.