Psalms 85:5

My Notes

What Does Psalms 85:5 Mean?

"Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?" The COMMUNITY asks the DURATION question: how LONG will God be angry? Is the anger PERMANENT? Does it extend to ALL GENERATIONS — not just the guilty generation but their children and grandchildren? The question probes the TIME-LIMIT of divine wrath. Is there an expiration? Or does the anger outlast the people it's directed at?

The phrase "wilt thou be angry with us for ever?" (hale'olam te'anaph banu — will you be angry with us forever/perpetually?) asks about PERPETUAL anger: the 'forever' (le'olam) is the word for ETERNITY — unending, without limit, without expiration. The question isn't 'will you be angry today?' It's 'will you be angry FOR ALL TIME?' The community fears the anger has no end-date. The wrath is experienced as potentially PERMANENT.

The phrase "draw out thine anger to all generations" (timshokh apekha ledor vador — will you extend/drag your anger to generation and generation?) adds GENERATIONAL scope: the anger might extend from THIS generation to the NEXT and the NEXT. The wrath doesn't just outlast the moment. It potentially outlasts the PEOPLE. The question: will our GRANDCHILDREN still be under this anger? Does the wrath INHERIT?

The question expects a NEGATIVE answer: the community asks because they BELIEVE God's anger has a LIMIT. The question is a plea disguised as an inquiry. 'Will you be angry forever?' means 'PLEASE don't be angry forever.' The asking is the hoping. The question contains the appeal.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What question about the duration of difficulty are you asking — and is it really a prayer for it to end?
• 2.What does 'all generations' teach about the fear that consequences outlast the people who caused them?
• 3.How does asking 'forever?' being a prayer (not just a question) describe the plea disguised as an inquiry?
• 4.What anger — divine or circumstantial — feels permanent in your life, and what would it mean to hear 'no, not forever'?

Devotional

FOREVER? The question that every suffering community asks: is the anger PERMANENT? Does it have an expiration? Will our GRANDCHILDREN inherit the wrath we earned? The community probes the time-limit of divine anger — hoping, through the asking, that the answer is NO.

The 'FOREVER' (le'olam) is the worst-case word: eternal, unending, without limit. The community fears the anger is PERMANENT — not a season of discipline but an eternal condition. The wrath that should be temporary feels like it's become the new normal. The anger that should have an end-date feels open-ended.

The 'ALL GENERATIONS' extends the fear FORWARD: not just 'will you be angry with US?' but 'will you be angry with our CHILDREN? Our grandchildren? Their children?' The wrath potentially INHERITS — passing from generation to generation, outliving the original offenders, persisting beyond the people who provoked it. The generational scope makes the anger DYNASTICAL.

The question is really a PRAYER: 'Wilt thou be angry forever?' means 'PLEASE don't be angry forever.' The interrogative is the imperative in disguise. The asking is the begging. The community puts its deepest plea in the form of a question — hoping that by questioning the permanence, they can appeal for the ending. The question is the plea.

What question about the DURATION of God's anger are you asking — and is the question really a prayer for the anger to end?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture