Psalm 80:16

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

Hi All,
I'm studying Psalm 80, and I've discovered that major translations vary on how they translate the second part of verse 16. For a sampling;

The verse reads in the ESV,
"They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your face!"

Whereas the NIV reads,
"Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
at your rebuke your people perish".

The ESV and NIV nicely represent the two interpretive options-- is the group perishing in the second line of v. 16 Israel, the vine, or is it a plea for those who have cut down the vine to perish? There are a few major translations on both sides. Several other translations leave it ambiguous by saying something like "they perish at the rebuke of your face". My one semester of Hebrew so far is not enough to give me much to go on, and I only have access to a couple of commentaries which even touch on the issue. Can anyone here point me to other technical commentaries I can access, or does anyone have enough Hebrew knowledge to weigh in?

Thanks!

 

[iainduguid]

The problem is not your lack of Hebrew. Both translations are possible, and the opinions are finely balanced. The focus of the psalm is the Lord's judgment on his people, which perhaps favors the NIV; the end of the psalm turns in a more positive direction, which favors the ESV, as does the plural ("Let them perish" or "They will perish") given that the previous descriptions of Israel have been as the personified vine and thus singular [but see v.18]). I'd pick whichever translation you think fits the flow of the psalm best, but not put too much weight on this half-verse (which again perhaps favors the NIV which adds least to the psalm).