Psalms 85:1-5

Context

Psalm 85¹

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 pardoned³ the wrongdoing of your people;

you forgave⁴ 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

[85:1] ¹sn 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.

[85:1] ²tn 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.

[85:2] ³tn Heb “lifted up.”

[85:2] ⁴tn Heb “covered over.”

[85:3] ⁵tn 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.

[85:4] ⁶tn Heb “break your displeasure with us.” Some prefer to emend הָפֵר (hafer, “break”) to הָסֵר (haser, “turn aside”).

[85:5] ⁷tn Heb “Will your anger stretch to a generation and a generation?”