In this prayer, which laments the long and bitter exile, the psalmist asks why this exile is longer than the previous one and begs G-d to quickly fulfill His promise to redeem the Jews. According to Chabad, every individual should offer this psalm in need. Asking for forgiveness comes up in Psalm 85.
- Text Psalm 85
- Hebrew text of Psalm 85 – תהילים פה
- Listen to Psalm 85
- Explanation of Psalm 85 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
- Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 85
- Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
- Psalm 1 to 92
Text Psalm 85
For the conductor, a song of the sons of Korah. O Lord, You have appeased Your land; You have restored Jacob’s captivity. You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have hidden all their sins forever. You have absorbed all Your wrath within Yourself; You have withdrawn from the fierceness of Your anger.
….Kindness and truth have come together; have kissed righteousness and peace. Truth will spring from the earth and righteousness will look down from heaven. G-d will also give good, and our land will give its increase. Justice will go before him and He will place it in the path of his steps.
Hebrew text of Psalm 85 – תהילים פה
{a} To the victor of the sons of Korah, a psalm: {b} You desired, O Lord, your land, the Sabbath of Jacob: {c} You bore the iniquity of your people, you covered all your sins,
you made a basket: {d} All of your transgressions are returned from the darkness of your face: As your anger is with us:
{f} For ever and ever you will be angry with us, you will extend your hand to generation after generation: You will give us: {9} I will hear what God will speak to Jehovah, for he will speak peace to his people and to His followers shall not return to the throne.
8: And righteousness from heaven is reflected: {13} Jehovah also will give what is good, and our land will give a
harvest: {hand} A righteous person before him will walk and put in the way of his people:
Listen to Psalm 85
Listen to Psalm 85 in Hebrew.
Explanation of Psalm 85 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
HaShem is the Source of all love. Because man is created in the image of G-d, he also needs to give love. People mainly do this to those close to them. HaShem’s love is expressed in forgiving man’s sins. It is always possible to ask forgiveness from G-d because His love is limitless.
Asking for forgiveness comes to the fore in Psalm 85. King David speaks here about the final redemption of all Jews. Jews will then return to Israel and live in a holy state where all sins caused by the stress of life in the Diaspora (Galut) are forgiven. Also on a personal level, G-d forgives the sins of the Jews as long as they realize that they are His people. Often sins are committed without realizing how much damage they do to the soul. G-d sees that damage.
The Jew asks G-d to revive him, to give him the spiritual insight so that he can enjoy the connection with G-d. The Jew also asks to see HaShem’s kindness so that they can perceive salvation. This can be done by putting aside the ego and thus hearing the voice of G-d. Then the Jew realizes that the Torah of G-d has always been the truth of all reality. This brings inner peace. G-d and the Jews thus unite and everything falls into place.
Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 85
Per verse the commentary of Rashi, the Jewish Bible commentator who lived from 1040-1105. Rashi is considered the teacher of teachers. All traditional Jews regard Rashi as an authority on the Jewish Bible and Talmud. Hence it is important to record his commentary on the Psalms. Rashi uses new Hebrew supplemented with Old French words. His language is sometimes somewhat oracularly short. For further explanation it is wise to consult an orthodox Jewish rabbi.
Verse 2
O Lord, You have appeased Your land; You have restored Jacob’s captivity.
O Lord, You have pacified Your land, etc. : If You have restored the captivity of Jacob, and have forgiven their iniquity, and have hid their sin, and have withdrawn Your anger from them, and have withdrawn from Your fierce anger, then You have Your country will be appeased and Your world will be appeased. But until You do this, Your country and Your world will not be appeased.
Verse 5
Give us back, O G-d of our salvation, and withdraw Your wrath from us.
Give us back : You will come back and take us back.
Verse 7
Will You not return and revive us so that Your people may rejoice with You?
Will You not : return at last and bring us to life, for [so] You promised us through Your prophet.
Verse 9
I will hear what G-d will speak when He speaks peace to His people and His devout men, and they will not return to foolishness.
I will hear what G-d will speak : I will deserve to hear what the Holy One, blessed be He, will speak when He speaks peace to His people.
after foolishness : Hebrew לכסלה, foolishness, to sin before Him.
Verse 11
Kindness and truth have come together; have kissed righteousness and peace.
Kindness and truth have come together : That Israel will speak the truth and kindness will meet them from heaven.
have kissed righteousness and peace : The righteousness [or charity] that Israel performed and the peace of the Holy One, blessed be He, will kiss each other, i.e. the act of charity will be peace (Isaiah 32:12).
Verse 12
Truth will spring from the earth and righteousness will look down from heaven.
Truth will spring up from the earth, etc. : If Israel speaks the truth, the charity they perform on earth will look down from heaven.
Verse 13
G-d will also give good, and our land will yield its increase.
G‑d will also give good : He will open His treasury, the heavens, to give rain, so that His land will yield its produce.
Verse 14
Righteousness will go before him, and He will place it in the way of his steps.
and He will place it in the path of his steps : And the Holy One, blessed be He, will place righteousness in the paths of his steps, by which he guides his sons.
Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
A question that many religious people have is how they can know that G-d has forgiven their sins. They often walk around with a feeling of guilt. According to Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, sin began with Eve who fell into the serpent’s trap. All generations after Eve fall into the same trap. To avoid this, man must try to ignore evil. The snake will initially do its best to seduce the human, but slowly its voice becomes quieter. Yet the snake has come up with a new trick: it has disguised itself as a very pious and holy being. He calls this disguise ‘guilt’. The snake tries to make people feel guilty. But according to Freeman, you should also ignore that feeling. Keep doing good, repent and move on with life. Then you know that G-d has forgiven your sins. Ignore the serpent if he continues to call you a sinner.
However, how do you move on with your life? According to Freeman, there are three steps:
- Forgiveness – G-d forgives your sins;
- Healing – by doing charity (tzedakah) you heal – normally 10% of your income but if you commit sins more than 10%;
- Health – that you have understood why you sinned. You are driven to greater heights through Torah study and prayer. Everything in life – including committing sins – has a purpose.
Psalm 1 to 92
Would you like to read more Psalms with a Jewish interpretation? Go to: Psalms 1 through 92.