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Psalm 80:12

Why have you broken down its walls, so that all those who pass by the way pluck it?

10The mountains were covered with its shadow. Its boughs were like God’s cedars.
11It sent out its branches to the sea, its shoots to the River.
12Why have you broken down its walls, so that all those who pass by the way pluck it?
13The boar out of the wood ravages it. The wild animals of the field feed on it.
14Turn again, we beg you, God of Armies. Look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vine,
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →
← Psalm 80:11Psalm 80:13 →
Notice

Broken walls leave the vine open to every passerby, and the prayer asks God why he has removed the protection it once had.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What stands out to you about asking God why he has broken down the walls?

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Where, if anywhere, does the vine exposed to passersby resemble a community you know?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

10 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Isaiah 5:5Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it will be eaten up. I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled …Both passages describe God breaking down a vineyard's protective wall, leaving what grows there exposed to destruction.
Psalm 89:40You have broken down all his hedges. You have brought his strongholds to ruin.Both prayers address God as the one who has broken down protective barriers.
Amos 9:11In that day I will raise up the tent of David who is fallen and close up its breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old,Psalm 80 mourns broken walls; Amos promises the repair of breaches and ruins in David's fallen tent.
Luke 20:16He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard that, they said, “May that never be!”Both passages involve a vine or vineyard and loss, though Luke concerns the destruction and replacement of its farmers.
Judges 21:3They said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be one tribe lacking in Israel today?”Both prayers ask God why devastation has come upon his people.
Isaiah 18:5–6For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and he will cut down …Both passages use vine imagery to describe loss: passersby pluck the exposed vine, while Isaiah describes branches cut away before harvest.
Nahum 2:2For the LORD restores the excellency of Jacob as the excellency of Israel, for the destroyers have destroyed them and ruined their vine branches.Both passages portray devastation through damage to a vine, with Nahum naming the ruined branches of Jacob and Israel.
Lamentations 2:6He has violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were a garden. He has destroyed his place of assembly. The LORD has caused solemn assembly and Sabbath to …Both passages attribute destruction to God, using a vine or garden image to describe what has been laid waste.
Hosea 2:12I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, about which she has said, ‘These are my wages that my lovers have given me,’ and I will make them a forest, and …Both passages describe vines exposed to consumption: passersby pluck in the psalm, and field animals eat in Hosea.
Job 1:10Haven’t you made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance …Both passages connect protective barriers with God's action: Job describes a hedge he made, while the psalm questions walls he broke down.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. doubt. fear for the future.

What the Bible says about anger →What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about fear →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Pray Psalm 80:12 aloud for one community facing harm

prayeroncelight
Encouragement

The prayer leaves its question unanswered. If you have no explanation for lost protection, Scripture contains this direct cry to God over his people's exposure to harm.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 80:12. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 80 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).