Introduction. Psalm translations, from Hebrew, Greek (the Septuagint) and Latin (the Vulgate), were not unusal school exercises. Milton certainly performed such exercises (see his paraphrase on Psalm 114), but many of the translations published in the 1673 edition of Poems appear to have been done as much for devotional as for linguistic exercise. Certainly Milton also took pride in the breadth of metrical virtuosity displayed in these verse translations.

It is instructive to compare Milton's translation with those of the King James Version and the Geneva. Also interesting to compare is the Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins version of 1562.

April, 1648. In April of 1648 the Westminster Assembly formed a committee to find a new Psalter for the Church of Scotland. This may support the theory of W. Hunter and other critics which holds that Milton translated these nine Psalms for the committee's review.

King James and Geneva versions. Milton's translation should be compared with those of the King James Version and the Geneva Bibles.

metre. The meter is common meter, appearing nowhere else in Milton's poetry except in his translations of the Psalms. It was the standard metrical form used in prayer books and Psalters of public and community worship. This has led the critic William Hunter to suggest that Milton's translation of these nine Psalms was part of a larger effort to produce a Psalter for common worship, possibly by the Church of Scotland.

A different Character. That is, everything in italics are words Milton has added to smooth out the sense or meter.

Psalm 80; lines 1-4. Compare with the 1647 Sternhold and Hopkins version:

Thou shepherd that Israel dost keep,
   give eare and take good heed:
Which leadest Joseph like a sheep,
   and dost him watch and feed,

Gnorera. The 1673 edition prints these Hebrew glosses in the margins. Their presence suggests that Milton was concerned with producing a fairly strict translation, one that would be widely accepted and used for common worship.

Psalm 80; lines 11-12. Milton frequently likened England to Israel, and the call for the strong saving presence of God is especially poignant in 1648 England, caught in the turbulence of the English Civil War.

Psalm 80; lines 13-16. Milton's translation is closest to the Rous Westminster revision. Other versions use "deliverance" or "saved," which is closer to the original Hebrew. Milton and Westminster Rous have instead "safe." Compare to the Westminster Rous version:

Turn us again, O Lord, our God,
and upon us vouchsafe
To make thy countenance to shine,
and so we shall be safe.

Gnashanta. The 1673 edition prints these Hebrew glosses in the margins. Their presence suggests that Milton was concerned with producing a fairly strict translation, one that would be widely accepted and used for common worship.

Shalish. The 1673 edition prints these Hebrew glosses in the margins. Their presence suggests that Milton was concerned with producing a fairly strict translation, one that would be widely accepted and used for common worship.

Jilnagu. The 1673 edition prints these Hebrew glosses in the margins. Their presence suggests that Milton was concerned with producing a fairly strict translation, one that would be widely accepted and used for common worship.

Flouts. Mocking speeches or actions; see OED2.

Haut. High, lofty, haughty; see OED2.

Psalm 80; line 37. The line appears word for word in Sternhold and Hopkins, verse 10.

Psalm 80; line 40. The line matches exactly Sternhold and Hopkins, verse 10.

Psalm 80; line 60. The Rous Westminster version matches this.

Psalm 80; lines 69-72. Compare to the Ainsworth translation:

On man of thy right-hand, let thine hand bee:
on son of man, whom thou mad'st strong for thee.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony Psalter of 1647 is closer still:

Upon the man of thy right hand
Let thine hand present be:
Upon the son of man whom thou
Has made so strong for thee.