Bible Strands
Psalms 85:1
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. You showed favor to Your land, O LORD; You restored Jacob from captivity.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The sons of Korah compose this psalm for the choirmaster to address Yahweh directly. The speaker recounts a past divine intervention that restored Jacob from captivity while simultaneously forgiving the people’s iniquity.
The words — רָצִ֣יתָ (ra.Tzi.ta) literally means “you showed favor to,” and שַׁ֝֗בְתָּ (Shav.ta) means “you turned back.” These verbs frame the verse’s core action: God’s gracious turning of Jacob’s captivity.
The thread — The theme of restoring Jacob from captivity appears in Jeremiah 30:18, Psalms 14:7, and Ezekiel 39:25. These passages consistently link Jacob’s return from exile with divine compassion and national restoration.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that deliverance originates solely from God’s favor, not human merit. It calls the reader to acknowledge past restoration as the basis for trusting subsequent forgiveness and national renewal.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 30:18 This is what the LORD says: “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings. And the city will be rebuilt on her own ruins, and the palace will stand in its rightful place.
- Psalms 14:7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!
- Ezekiel 39:25 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Now I will restore Jacob from captivity and will have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy name.
- Psalms 77:7 “Will the Lord spurn us forever and never show His favor again?
- Leviticus 26:42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
- Psalms 42:1 For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
- Psalms 126:1 A song of ascents. When the LORD restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers.
- Joel 2:18 Then the LORD became jealous for His land, and He spared His people.
- Joel 3:1 “Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore Judah and Jerusalem from captivity,
- Jeremiah 31:23 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “When I restore them from captivity, they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities: ‘May the LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling place, O holy mountain.’