The Meaning of Psalms 80:11 Explained

Psalms 80:11

KJV: She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.

YLT: It sendeth forth its branches unto the sea, And unto the river its sucklings.

Darby: It sent out its boughs unto the sea, and its shoots unto the river.

ASV: It sent out its branches unto the sea, And its shoots unto the River.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

She sent out  her boughs  unto the sea,  and her branches  unto the river. 

What does Psalms 80:11 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 80:8-19 - "cause Thy Face To Shine"
The imagery of the vine is taken from Jacob's dying words, in which he compared Joseph to a fruitful bough which had grown over the wall, Genesis 49:22. It is therefore a very apt and appropriate figure in this psalm, of which the northern tribes are the special subject. The figure of the vine is wrought out with extreme beauty. The book of Exodus tells of the transplanting, and those of Joshua and Judges of the ground that was cleared to receive it. In the days of Solomon, the boughs of the kingdom reached to the Euphrates on the east, and the Great Sea (the Mediterranean) on the west. But the walls were broken down by invasion, and the vine lay at the mercy of every passer-by or the wild creatures of the forest.
We, too, know the havoc which ensues when the Church no longer lives within the ring-fence of God's care. Revive us! Restore us! Cause thy face to shine! The man of thy right hand, Psalms 80:17, may be another term for Israel, Genesis 35:18. But our Lord alone can fulfill this description; and God's power is pledged to arrest the advance of the enemy, and to cause the true Vine and its branches to cover the earth. We must turn to John 15:1-27 to find the antitype of Israel, in the relation between Christ and His Church. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 80

1  The psalmist in his prayer complains of the miseries of the church
8  God's former favors are turned into judgments
14  He prays for deliverance

What do the individual words in Psalms 80:11 mean?

She sent out her boughs to the Sea and to the River her branches
תְּשַׁלַּ֣ח קְצִירֶ֣הָ עַד־ יָ֑ם וְאֶל־ נָ֝הָ֗ר יֽוֹנְקוֹתֶֽיהָ

תְּשַׁלַּ֣ח  She  sent  out 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
קְצִירֶ֣הָ  her  boughs 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: קָצִיר 
Sense: harvest, harvesting.
יָ֑ם  the  Sea 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
וְאֶל־  and  to 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
נָ֝הָ֗ר  the  River 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָהָר  
Sense: stream, river.
יֽוֹנְקוֹתֶֽיהָ  her  branches 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: יׄונֶקֶת  
Sense: young plant, twig, young shoot.