Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 80:4

Charles Ellicott Commentary

Psalms 80:4

1819–1905
Anglican
Charles Ellicott
Charles Ellicott

Charles Ellicott Commentary

Psalms 80:4

1819–1905
Anglican
SCRIPTURE

"O Jehovah God of hosts, How long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?" — Psalms 80:4 (ASV)

How long wilt thou be angry? —Literally, until when have you fumed? This is a construction rich in meaning, combining two clauses: You have been angry for a long time; how long will you continue to be angry? (Compare to Psalms 13:2, Note, and Exodus 10:3.)

Others say the preterite here has the sense of a future perfect, which amounts to the same thing: “How long will you have fumed?” (See Müller’s Syntax, § i. 3, remark (a), Professor Robertson’s translation.).

Against the prayer. —Literally, in, i.e., during the prayer. The smoke of the Divine anger is, perhaps, conceived of as a cloud through which the prayer (often symbolized by ascending incense) cannot penetrate.