For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. You showed favor to Your land, O LORD; You restored Jacob from captivity.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. Yahweh, you have been favorable to your land. You have restored the fortunes of Jacob.
- KJV Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
- NKJV Lord, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.
- NASB Lord, You showed favor to Your land; You restored the fortunes of Jacob.
- NLT Lord, you poured out blessings on your land! You restored the fortunes of Israel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The sons of Korah recall how God showed past favor to the land and restored Jacob's fortunes. Remembering God's former mercies grounds present prayer.
Overview
Psalm 85 opens by rehearsing God's gracious dealings, likely recalling the return from exile or another deliverance. By beginning with what God 'has' done, the psalmist builds a foundation for petitioning renewed grace. This pattern of remembering redemption to fuel faith anticipates how the church looks back to the cross as the assurance of God's ongoing favor.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 14:7Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!
- Jer 30:18This is what the LORD says: “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings. And the city will be rebuilt on her own ruins, and the palace will stand in its rightful place.
- Ezek 39:25Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Now I will restore Jacob from captivity and will have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy name.
- Ps 77:7“Will the Lord spurn us forever and never show His favor again?
- Joel 2:18Then the LORD became jealous for His land, and He spared His people.
- Ps 126:1–2A song of ascents. When the LORD restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers.
- Ps 42:1For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
- Lev 26:42then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
- Zech 1:16Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My house will be rebuilt, declares the LORD of Hosts, and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.’
- Joel 3:1“Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore Judah and Jerusalem from captivity,
- Jer 31:23This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “When I restore them from captivity, they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities: ‘May the LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling place, O holy mountain.’
- Ezra 1:11In all, there were 5,400 gold and silver articles. Sheshbazzar brought all these along when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 85:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.