Psalms 85

1 “To the chief musician, by the sons of Korach, a psalm.” Thou hast been favorable, O Lord, unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

Yahweh, you have been kind to [us people who live in] this land; you have enabled [us] Israeli people to become prosperous again.

2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people: thou hast covered over all their sin. (Selah)

You forgave [us], your people, for the sins that we had committed; you pardoned [us] for all our sins [DOU].

3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast relinquished the fierceness of thy anger.

You stopped being angry [with us] and turned away from severely punishing [us].

4 Return to us, O God of our salvation, and cause thy ill-will toward us to cease.

Now, God, the one who saves/rescues us, (restore us/make us prosperous again) and stop being angry with us!

5 Wilt thou be wroth with us for ever? wilt thou extend thy anger from generation to generation?

(Will you continue to be angry with us forever?/Please do not continue to be angry with us forever.) [DOU, RHQ]

6 Wilt thou not [now] revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee?

Please enable us [RHQ] to prosper again in order that [we], your people, will rejoice about what you [have done for us].

7 Show us thy kindness, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.

Yahweh, by rescuing us [from our troubles/difficulties], show us that you faithfully love us.

8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak; for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his pious ones: only let them not turn again to folly.

I want to listen to what Yahweh [our] God says, because he promises/says that he will enable [us], his people, to live peacefully, if we do not return to doing foolish things.

9 Surely, nigh is his salvation unto those that fear him: that glory may dwell in our land.

He is surely ready to save/rescue those who revere him, in order that [his] glory/splendor will be seen in our land.

10 Kindness and truth are met together: righteousness and peace kiss each other.

[When that happens], he will both faithfully love us and faithfully [do for us what he promised to do] [PRS]; and we will act/behave righteously, and he will give us peace, which will be like a kiss that he gives us.

11 Truth will grow up out of the earth, and righteousness will look down from heaven.

Here on earth, we will (be loyal to/continually believe in) God, and from heaven, God will act justly/fairly [toward us].

12 Yea, the Lord will also give the good, and our land will yield its products.

Yes, Yahweh will do good things [for us], and there will be great harvests in our land.

13 Righteousness will walk firmly before him, and will make [level] the way by its steps.

[Yahweh always acts] righteously [PRS, MET]; he acts righteously wherever he goes.