Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
Parallel translations
- WEB Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
- BSB Restore us, O God, and cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
- NKJV Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!
- NASB God, restore us And make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.
- NLT Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.
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
A refrain pleading for God to restore His people and let His favor shine on them so they will be saved. Restoration begins with God turning to us, not us turning ourselves.
Overview
This recurring refrain (vv. 3, 7, 19) frames Psalm 80's lament over a devastated nation. To ask God to make His face shine is to seek the restoration of His gracious presence, echoing the Aaronic blessing (Num. 6:25). Salvation is portrayed as God's gift, granted when He turns back to a people unable to save themselves, a hope ultimately fulfilled in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Lam 5:21Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.
- Num 6:25–26The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
- Ps 85:4Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
- Ps 80:19Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
- Ps 80:7Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
- Ps 4:6There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
- 1 Kgs 18:37Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
- Ps 119:135Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.
- Ps 80:1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
- Ps 67:1God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
- Ps 60:1O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.
- Jer 31:18–19I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 80:3 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.