Bible Strands
Psalms 85:5
Will You be angry with us forever? Will You draw out Your anger to all generations?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, continuing the plea for restoration from verse 4 and anticipating the request for revival in verse 6. The speaker represents the community facing the threat of prolonged divine judgment.
The words — The Hebrew תֶּֽאֱנַף (te'eneḏ) translates to "will you be angry," joined by תִּמְשֹׁךְ (timšōḵ) meaning "will you prolong" or "draw out." These verbs govern the fear that אַפְּךָ (appekha, "your anger") will extend לְעוֹלָם (lə'ōlām, "forever") across דֹּר וָדֹר (dōr wāḏōr, "generation after generation").
The thread — The identical structure appears in Psalms 79:5 and Psalms 80:4, where the community questions how long Yahweh's anger or jealousy will smolder. It also aligns with the lament in Psalms 74:1 regarding God's rejection and enduring wrath against His people.
Why it lands — The text presents two direct questions about the duration of divine anger before any resolution is granted. It requires the reader to hold the tension between the fear of permanent judgment and the immediate context of pleading for restoration.
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
Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
Cross-references
- Psalms 79:5 How long, O LORD? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
- Psalms 80:4 O LORD God of Hosts, how long will Your anger smolder against the prayers of Your people?
- Psalms 74:1 A Maskil of Asaph. Why have You rejected us forever, O God? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?
- Isaiah 64:9 Do not be angry, O LORD, beyond measure; do not remember our iniquity forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray; we are all Your people!
- Psalms 77:9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has His anger shut off His compassion?” Selah
- Psalms 89:46 How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath keep burning like fire?
- 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?
- Luke 21:24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
- Revelation 18:21 Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.