For the music director; written by the Korahites, a psalm.
85:1 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the well-being of Jacob. 2
85:2 You pardoned 3 the wrongdoing of your people;
you forgave 4 all their sin. (Selah)
85:3 You withdrew all your fury;
you turned back from your raging anger. 5
85:4 Restore us, O God our deliverer!
Do not be displeased with us! 6
85:5 Will you stay mad at us forever?
Will you remain angry throughout future generations? 7
1 sn Psalm 85. God’s people recall how he forgave their sins in the past, pray that he might now restore them to his favor, and anticipate renewed blessings.
2 tn Heb “you turned with a turning [toward] Jacob.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv). See Pss 14:7; 53:6.
3 tn Heb “lifted up.”
4 tn Heb “covered over.”
5 tn Heb “the rage of your anger.” The phrase “rage of your anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81. See Pss 69:24; 78:49.
6 tn Heb “break your displeasure with us.” Some prefer to emend הָפֵר (hafer, “break”) to הָסֵר (haser, “turn aside”).
7 tn Heb “Will your anger stretch to a generation and a generation?”