Psalm 85 The Voice

Psalm 85

For the worship leader. A song of the sons of Korah.

¹O Eternal One, there was a time when You were gracious to Your land;
You returned Jacob’s descendants from their captivity.
²You forgave the iniquity of Your people,
covered all of their sins.

[pause]^[a]

³There was a time when You restrained all of Your fierce wrath,
when You cooled Your hot anger.

⁴O God of our salvation, bring us back again—as You did before—
    and put away Your anger toward us.
⁵Will You be mad at us forever?
    Will You continue to be angry with our children and theirs?
⁶Will You not bring us back to life once more
    so that we, Your people, will find joy and pleasure in You?
⁷O Eternal One, show us Your unfailing love;
    give us what we truly need: Your salvation.

⁸I will hear what the True God—the Eternal—will say,
    for He will speak peace over His people,
    peace over those who faithfully follow Him, [but do not let them abuse His gift and return to foolish ways].^[b]
⁹Without a doubt, His salvation is near for those who revere Him
    so that He will be with us again and all His glory will fill this land.

¹⁰Unfailing love and truth have met on their way;
    righteousness and peace have kissed one another.
¹¹Truth will spring from the earth like a plant,
    and justice will look down from the sky.
¹²Yes, the Eternal will plant goodness in the earth,
    and our land will yield great abundance.
¹³Justice will come before Him,
    marking out a path, setting a way for His feet.

Footnotes

85:2 Literally, selah, likely a musical direction from a Hebrew root meaning “to lift up”
85:8 Greek manuscripts read, “to those who turn to Him in their hearts.”