Mazmur 85:1-3

Psalm 85 ¹ 

For the music director; written by the Korahites, a psalm.

85:1 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;

you restored the well-being of Jacob. ² 

85:2 You pardoned ³  the wrongdoing of your people;

you forgave ⁴  all their sin. (Selah)

85:3 You withdrew all your fury;

you turned back from your raging anger. ⁵ 

Mazmur 126:5-6

126:5 Those who shed tears as they plant

will shout for joy when they reap the harvest. ⁶ 

126:6 The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag ⁷  of seed,

will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain. ⁸ 

[85:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 85. God’s people recall how he forgave their sins in the past, pray that he might now restore them to his favor, and anticipate renewed blessings.

[85:1]  ² tn Heb “you turned with a turning [toward] Jacob.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv). See Pss 14:7; 53:6.

[85:2]  ³ tn Heb “lifted up.”

[85:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “covered over.”

[85:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “the rage of your anger.” The phrase “rage of your anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81. See Pss 69:24; 78:49.

[126:5]  ⁶ sn O. Borowski says regarding this passage: “The dependence on rain for watering plants, the uncertainty of the quantity and timing of the rains, and the possibility of crop failure due to pests and diseases appear to have kept the farmer in a gloomy mood during sowing” (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 54). Perhaps the people were experiencing a literal drought, the effects of which cause them to lament their plight as they plant their seed in hopes that the rain would come. However, most take the language as metaphorical. Like a farmer sowing his seed, the covenant community was enduring hardship as they waited for a new outpouring of divine blessing. Yet they are confident that a time of restoration will come and relieve their anxiety, just as the harvest brings relief and joy to the farmer.

[126:6]  ⁷ tn The noun occurs only here and in Job 28:18 in the OT. See HALOT 646 s.v. I מֶשֶׁךְ which gives “leather pouch” as the meaning.

[126:6]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew noun אֲלֻמָּה (’alummah, “sheaf”) occurs only here and in Gen 37:7 in the OT.

[126:6]  sn Verse 6 expands the image of v. 5. See the note on the word “harvest” there.