Lord, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.
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.
- BSB For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. You showed favor to Your land, O LORD; You restored Jacob from captivity.
- 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 out of Zion! When Yahweh restores the fortunes of his people, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
- Jer 30:18Yahweh says: “Behold, I will turn again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have compassion on his dwelling places. The city shall be built on its own hill, and the palace shall be inhabited in its own place.
- Ezek 39:25Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name.
- Ps 77:7“Will the Lord reject us forever? Will he be favorable no more?
- Joel 2:18Then Yahweh was jealous for his land, And had pity on his people.
- Ps 126:1–2A Song of Ascents. When Yahweh brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like those who dream.
- Ps 42:1For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God.
- Lev 26:42then I will remember my covenant with Jacob; and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham; and I will remember the land.
- Zech 1:16Therefore Yahweh says: “I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and a line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.”’
- Joel 3:1“For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
- Jer 31:23Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I shall bring again their captivity: ‘Yahweh bless you, habitation of righteousness, mountain of holiness.’
- Ezra 1:11All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand four hundred. Sheshbazzar brought all these up when the captives were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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.