The Meaning of Psalms 85:1 Explained

Psalms 85:1

KJV: {To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.} LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

YLT: To the Overseer. -- By sons of Korah. A Psalm. Thou hast accepted, O Jehovah, Thy land, Thou hast turned to the captivity of Jacob.

Darby: {To the chief Musician. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.} Thou hast been favourable, Jehovah, unto thy land; thou hast turned the captivity of Jacob:

ASV: Jehovah, thou hast been favorable unto thy land; Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

{{To the chief Musician,  A Psalm  for the sons  of Korah.  }} LORD,  thou hast been favourable  unto thy land:  thou hast brought back  the captivity  of Jacob. 

What does Psalms 85:1 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 85:1-13 - A Prayer For The Nation
This psalm is the counterpart of Psalms 80:1-19. There we see petitions ascending; here thanksgivings are returned. Evidently there had been granted some great national deliverance, which filled the land with thanksgiving. The restoration of the captives from Babylon was such an event; but the words well befit glad days of revival. They might have been sung on the first Easter day, when mercy and truth met at the Cross, and there was a bridal of the earth and sky. Reversed captivity, forgiven and buried sin, the dark clouds of estrangement dispelled, the speaking of peace-these are great themes and all have their counterparts in Christian experience.
There is exquisite beauty in Psalms 85:10-11. What a meeting of the divine attributes! The Cross is their trysting-place. It resembles the family-gathering of brothers and sisters in the old homestead. Notice that heaven must combine with earth in the production of Christian grace. Truth can spring up in the soil of our heart only when righteousness looks down with benignant love from heaven. But she does even more-she shows us how to walk in the way of God's steps. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 85

1  The Psalmist, out of the experience of former mercies, prays for continuance thereof
8  He promises to wait thereon, out of confidence of God's goodness

What do the individual words in Psalms 85:1 mean?

To the Chief Musician of the sons of Korah A Psalm You have been favorable Yahweh to Your land You have brought back - the captivity of Jacob
לַמְנַצֵּ֬חַ ׀ לִבְנֵי־ קֹ֬רַח מִזְמֽוֹר רָצִ֣יתָ יְהוָ֣ה אַרְצֶ֑ךָ שַׁ֝֗בְתָּ שבות [שְׁבִ֣ית] (יַעֲקֹֽב)

לַמְנַצֵּ֬חַ ׀  To  the  Chief  Musician 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָצַח  
Sense: to excel, be bright, be preeminent, be perpetual, be overseer, be enduring.
לִבְנֵי־  of  the  sons 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
קֹ֬רַח  of  Korah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֹרַח  
Sense: son of Izhar, grandson of Kohath, great grandson of Levi and leader of the rebellion of the Israelites against Moses and Aaron while in the wilderness; punished and died by an earthquake and flames of fire.
מִזְמֽוֹר  A  Psalm 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִזְמֹור  
Sense: melody, psalm.
רָצִ֣יתָ  You  have  been  favorable 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: רָצָא 
Sense: to be pleased with, be favourable to, accept favourably.
יְהוָ֣ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אַרְצֶ֑ךָ  to  Your  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
שַׁ֝֗בְתָּ  You  have  brought  back 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
שבות  - 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
[שְׁבִ֣ית]  the  captivity  of 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שְׁבוּת 
Sense: captivity, captives.
(יַעֲקֹֽב)  Jacob 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.