Psalm 85sn 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.
For the music director; written by the Korahites, a psalm.
1 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the well-being of Jacob.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.
2 You pardonedtn Heb “lifted up.” the wrongdoing of your people;
you forgavetn Heb “covered over.” all their sin. (Selah)
3 You withdrew all your fury;
you turned back from your raging anger.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.
4 Restore us, O God our deliverer!
Do not be displeased with us!tn Heb “break your displeasure with us.” Some prefer to emend הָפֵר (hafer, “break”) to הָסֵר (haser, “turn aside”).
5 Will you stay mad at us forever?
Will you remain angry throughout future generations?tn Heb “Will your anger stretch to a generation and a generation?”
6 Will you not revive us once more?
Then your people will rejoice in you!
7 O Lord, show us your loyal love!
Bestow on us your deliverance!
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.sn I will listen. Having asked for the Lord’s favor, the psalmist (who here represents the nation) anticipates a divine word of assurance.
For he will maketn Heb “speak.” The idiom “speak peace” refers to establishing or maintaining peaceful relations with someone (see Gen 37:4; Zech 9:10; cf. Ps 122:8). peace with his people, his faithful followers.tn Heb “to his people and to his faithful followers.” The translation assumes that “his people” and “his faithful followers” are viewed as identical here.
Yet they must nottn Or “yet let them not.” After the negative particle אֵל (’el), the prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating the speaker’s desire or wish. return to their foolish ways.
9 Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance;tn Heb “certainly his deliverance [is] near to those who fear him.”
then his splendor will again appear in our land.tn Heb “to dwell, glory, in our land.” “Glory” is the subject of the infinitive. The infinitive with -לְ (lÿ), “to dwell,” probably indicates result here (“then”). When God delivers his people and renews his relationship with them, he will once more reveal his royal splendor in the land.
10 Loyal love and faithfulness meet;tn The psalmist probably uses the perfect verbal forms in v. 10 in a dramatic or rhetorical manner, describing what he anticipates as if it were already occurring or had already occurred.
deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss.sn Deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss. The psalmist personifies these abstract qualities to emphasize that God’s loyal love and faithfulness will yield deliverance and peace for his people.
11 Faithfulness grows from the ground,
and deliverance looks down from the sky.sn The psalmist already sees undeniable signs of God’s faithfulness and expects deliverance to arrive soon.
and our land will yieldtn Both “bestow” and “yield” translate the same Hebrew verb (נָתַן, natan). The repetition of the word emphasizes that agricultural prosperity is the direct result of divine blessing. its crops.
13 Deliverance goestn Or “will go.” before him,
and preparestn Or “will prepare.” a pathway for him.tn Heb “and it prepares for a way his footsteps.” Some suggest emending וְיָשֵׂם (vÿyasem, “and prepares”) to וְשָׁלוֹם (vÿshalom, “and peace”) since “deliverance” and “peace” are closely related earlier in v. 13. This could be translated, “and peace [goes ahead, making] a pathway for his footsteps” (cf. NEB).
1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC
Used by permission, All rights reserved.
