Psalms 85:1-6

1 To the overcomer, the song of the sons of Korah. Lord, thou hast blessed thy land; thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob. (To the overcomer, the song for the sons of Korah. Lord, thou hast blessed thy land; thou hast brought back the captives of Jacob/thou hast returned prosperity to Jacob.)
2 Thou hast forgiven the wickedness of thy people; thou hast covered all the sins of them.
3 Thou hast assuaged all thine ire; thou hast turned (thyself) away from the ire of thine indignation.
4 God, our health, convert thou us; and turn away thine ire from us. (God, our salvation, bring thou us back/God, our deliverance, turn back to us; and turn away thy anger from us.)
5 Whether thou shalt be wroth to us [into] without end; either shalt thou hold forth thine ire from generation into generation? (Shalt thou be angry with us forever? shalt thou bring forth thy anger to all generations?)
6 God, thou converted, shalt quicken us; and thy people shall be glad in thee. (God, give thou us new life; and thy people shall be glad, or shall rejoice, in thee.)

Psalms 85:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. This psalm is generally thought to have been composed after the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon; and yet when they were in some distress from their neighbours, either in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, or in the times of Antiochus; but then this deliverance from captivity must be considered as typical of redemption by Christ; for as the title of the Syriac version is, "it is a prophecy concerning Christ;" it speaks of his dwelling in the land, of his salvation being near, and of the glory of the divine perfections as displayed in it; and perhaps some parts of it may respect the conversion of the Jews in the latter day; and Aben Ezra and Kimchi say, it is concerning the captivity of Babylon, yet also of their present captivity.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.