Bible Strands
Psalms 85:4
Restore us, O God of our salvation, and put away Your displeasure toward us.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, pleading for intervention after noting God's prior restraint of fury (Psalms 85:3). This appeal occurs within a communal lament seeking relief from ongoing divine displeasure (Psalms 85:5).
The words — The Hebrew verb שׁוּבֵנוּ (Shuve nu) literally means "return us" or "restore us," while וְהָפֵר (ve haFer) translates to "and break" or "put away." These terms frame the plea as a request to reverse God's current stance of anger.
The thread — This plea echoes earlier communal petitions in Psalms 80:3 and Psalms 80:7, where the identical phrase "Restore us, O God" precedes a request for divine favor. It also aligns with the national supplication in Lamentations 5:21, which similarly asks for restoration to relationship.
Why it lands — The verse demands a concrete turn from divine judgment to mercy, requiring the reader to acknowledge dependence on God's initiative for relief. It frames restoration not as a human achievement but as a divine action that removes ongoing displeasure.
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
Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
Cross-references
- Psalms 80:3 Restore us, O God, and cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
- Lamentations 5:21 Restore us to Yourself, O LORD, so we may return; renew our days as of old,
- Psalms 80:7 Restore us, O God of Hosts, and cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
- Micah 7:7 But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
- Psalms 25:2 in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
- Psalms 27:1 Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?
- Psalms 80:19 Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
- Jeremiah 31:18 I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.
- Micah 7:18 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
- Malachi 4:6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”