Psa 85 | NETfull | STEP | O Lord , you showed favor to your land; you restored the well-being of Jacob.

Psalms 85

1 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the well-being of Jacob. ^{▼▼ Heb “you turned with a turning [toward] Jacob.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (sh^evut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv). See Pss 14:7; 53:6.}
2 You pardoned ^{▼▼ Heb “lifted up.”} the wrongdoing of your people;
you forgave ^{▼▼ Heb “covered over.”} all their sin. (Selah)
3 You withdrew all your fury;
you turned back from your raging anger. ^{▼▼ 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! ^{▼▼ 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? ^{▼▼ 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. ^{▼▼ 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 make ^{▼▼ 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. ^{▼▼ 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 not ^{▼▼ 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; ^{▼▼ Heb “certainly his deliverance [is] near to those who fear him.”}
then his splendor will again appear in our land. ^{▼▼ Heb “to dwell, glory, in our land.” “Glory” is the subject of the infinitive. The infinitive with -לְ (l^e), “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; ^{▼▼ 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. ^{▼▼ 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. ^{▼▼ The psalmist already sees undeniable signs of God’s faithfulness and expects deliverance to arrive soon.}
12 Yes, the Lord will bestow his good blessings, ^{▼▼ Heb “what is good.”}
and our land will yield ^{▼▼ 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.
Deliverance goes ^{▼▼ Or “will go.”} before him,
and prepares ^{▼▼ Or “will prepare.”} a pathway for him. ^{▼▼ Heb “and it prepares for a way his footsteps.” Some suggest emending וְיָשֵׂם (v^eyasem, “and prepares”) to וְשָׁלוֹם (v^eshalom, “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).}

Psalm 86

^{▼▼ Psalm 86. The psalmist appeals to God’s mercy as he asks for deliverance from his enemies.}

Psalms 85

Psalm 86

A prayer of David.