The Meaning of Psalms 85:6 Explained

Psalms 85:6

KJV: Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

YLT: Dost Thou not turn back? Thou revivest us, And Thy people do rejoice in Thee.

Darby: Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee?

ASV: Wilt thou not quicken us again, That thy people may rejoice in thee?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Wilt thou not revive  us again:  that thy people  may rejoice  in thee? 

What does Psalms 85:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 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: Psalms 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 85:6 mean?

not will You again revive us that Your people may rejoice in You
הֲֽלֹא־ אַ֭תָּה תָּשׁ֣וּב תְּחַיֵּ֑נוּ וְ֝עַמְּךָ֗ יִשְׂמְחוּ־ בָֽךְ

אַ֭תָּה  will  You 
Parse: Pronoun, second person masculine singular
Root: אַתְּ 
Sense: you (second pers.
תָּשׁ֣וּב  again 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
תְּחַיֵּ֑נוּ  revive  us 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, second person masculine singular, first person common plural
Root: חָיָה  
Sense: to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.
וְ֝עַמְּךָ֗  that  Your  people 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
יִשְׂמְחוּ־  may  rejoice 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׂמַח  
Sense: to rejoice, be glad.
בָֽךְ  in  You 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular