Psalm 85:3 kjv
Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.
Psalm 85:3 nkjv
You have taken away all Your wrath; You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.
Psalm 85:3 niv
You set aside all your wrath and turned from your fierce anger.
Psalm 85:3 esv
You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
Psalm 85:3 nlt
You held back your fury.
You kept back your blazing anger.
Psalm 85 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 12:1 | "You were angry with me, but your anger has turned away and you comfort me." | God's turned anger leading to comfort. |
| Mic 7:18 | "Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity... He does not retain His anger forever..." | God's character as a pardoning, non-eternally wrathful God. |
| Jer 31:34 | "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." | God's comprehensive forgiveness and forgetfulness of sin. |
| Exod 34:6-7 | "The LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love..." | Revelation of God's character including slowness to anger. |
| Joel 2:13 | "He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity." | God's nature that leads Him to relent from punishment. |
| Rom 8:1 | "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." | NT fulfillment of freedom from divine condemnation through Christ. |
| Heb 8:12 | "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." | The New Covenant promise of God's ultimate forgiveness. |
| Ps 103:8-12 | "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger... He does not treat us as our sins deserve..." | Description of God's compassionate nature regarding His anger and our sin. |
| Lam 3:22 | "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail." | God's mercies prevent complete destruction, despite sin. |
| Jonah 3:10 | "When God saw... their evil ways, He relented... and did not bring on them the destruction He had threatened." | God's willingness to turn away from threatened judgment in response to repentance. |
| Ps 30:5 | "For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime..." | The brevity of God's anger contrasted with His enduring favor. |
| Isa 54:8 | "In a flood of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you." | God's temporary wrath overcome by everlasting kindness. |
| Eph 2:4-5 | "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ..." | God's love and mercy as the basis for spiritual life, not judgment. |
| 1 Jn 1:9 | "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins..." | Promise of forgiveness upon confession. |
| Col 2:13-14 | "...He canceled the record of debt...nailing it to the cross." | Removal of the indictment against humanity through Christ's atonement. |
| Ps 78:38 | "Yet he was merciful and forgave their iniquity; He did not destroy them. Many times He restrained his anger..." | God's frequent restraint of His full anger against disobedience. |
| Ps 106:44-45 | "Nevertheless, he saw their distress when he heard their cry... he remembered his covenant and relented..." | God remembering His covenant and relenting from judgment due to distress. |
| Ezek 36:26-27 | "I will give you a new heart... I will put My Spirit in you..." | God's work of inner transformation, removing the cause of His wrath. |
| Hosea 11:8-9 | "How can I give you up, Ephraim?... My heart is changed within Me; all My compassion is aroused." | God's compassion overcoming His just anger towards His people. |
| Zep 3:15 | "The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy..." | God actively removing punishment and turning away threats. |
| Rom 5:9-10 | "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath..." | Salvation from wrath through Christ's atoning blood. |
| Ps 99:8 | "You were a forgiving God to them, though you punished them for their misdeeds." | God's ability to forgive even while administering appropriate discipline. |
Psalm 85 verses
Psalm 85 3 Meaning
This verse declares that God has completely removed His active wrath and turned away the intensity of His anger. It speaks of a decisive and full withdrawal of divine judgment, signaling an act of profound forgiveness and reconciliation. It's a statement of God's merciful character, recalling a past, completed demonstration of His willingness to turn from displeasure towards restoration.
Psalm 85 3 Context
Psalm 85 is often identified as a post-exilic psalm, reflecting the sentiments of the people of Israel who had returned from Babylonian captivity but still yearned for complete restoration and spiritual revival. The psalm opens with a hymn of praise and remembrance for God's past gracious acts of national deliverance, specifically His removal of wrath and the return of the exiles (vv. 1-3). This remembrance serves as the foundational plea for the psalmist's subsequent lament over current struggles and a fervent prayer for continued divine favor and restoration (vv. 4-7). Verse 3, therefore, looks back to a concrete historical event where God had clearly shown His mercy by definitively ending a period of national judgment and turning His displeasure away, providing a theological basis for the present hope that God would again extend His favor and bring lasting peace.
Psalm 85 3 Word analysis
Thou hast taken away (כָּאֳסְתָּ / kāsaṯā): From the root כָּסַה (kasah), which means "to cover," "to conceal," and by extension, "to forgive" or "to atone for." In this perfect tense, it signifies a completed action: God has completely covered over, removed, or done away with His wrath, making it as though it no longer exists or applies.
all (כָל / kāl): This intensifier emphasizes totality. It implies not just a reduction, but a complete and comprehensive removal of wrath. Nothing of it remains.
thy wrath (עֶבְרָתֶךָ / ʿebrateḵā): Derived from עֶבְרָה (ʿebrah), denoting "overflowing rage," "fury," or "indignation." It describes an intense, violent displeasure often associated with divine judgment or outburst.
thou hast turned thyself (הֱשִׁיבוֹתָ / hešîvōtā): This is a Hiphil perfect verb from שׁוּב (shuv), meaning "to return," "to turn back." In the Hiphil, it means "to cause to return" or "to bring back." Here, it expresses God's active and deliberate choice to turn His anger away from His people. It’s an intentional act of redirection.
from the fierceness (מֵֽחֲרוֹן / meḥărôn): From חָרוֹן (charon), which means "burning," "blazing," "hot displeasure," or "fierceness." This term signifies an extremely hot, intense, and active anger, often found in contexts of divine indignation resulting in severe judgment.
of thine anger (אַפֶּֽךָ / ʾappeḵā): From אַף (aph), literally "nose" or "nostril," used idiomatically for "anger" because the nose indicates displeasure (flaring nostrils) and strong emotions. It often denotes a strong, direct expression of wrath. This pairing with
charon(ḥarôn 'appeḵā) creates a very potent phrase for the severity of God’s anger."Thou hast taken away all thy wrath": This phrase asserts God's completed action of removing all aspects of His divine fury. It implies forgiveness and an end to active discipline for a past offense.
"thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger": This second phrase acts in synonymous parallelism, reiterating and intensifying the first. By using distinct but equally potent terms for "wrath" and "anger," it stresses the comprehensive nature of God's withdrawal from judgment. The emphasis is on God's deliberate turning away from active, intense indignation.
Psalm 85 3 Bonus section
- The perfect tense verbs throughout the verse ("taken away," "turned thyself") emphasize the completion and decisiveness of God's past action. This historical act provides the unshakeable foundation for the psalmist's plea in the subsequent verses.
- The use of synonymous parallelism in the two clauses serves not merely to repeat, but to intensify and reinforce the message. By using two different yet strong expressions for divine wrath (
'ebrateḵāandḥarôn 'appeḵā), the psalmist stresses the totality and unwavering nature of God's act of turning away His anger. - This verse provides theological grounds for perseverance in prayer and repentance. If God has once so definitively turned away His wrath, then there is hope and assurance that He will continue to show mercy to those who seek Him, despite ongoing challenges or future failings.
Psalm 85 3 Commentary
Psalm 85:3 powerfully proclaims the completeness of God's mercy towards His people. The verse uses strong, parallel Hebrew terms—'ebrateḵā (overflowing fury) and ḥarôn 'appeḵā (fierceness of anger)—to underscore the depth of God's prior wrath and, more importantly, the thoroughness of its removal. This isn't a mere temporary abatement, but a definitive act ("taken away," "turned thyself" in the perfect tense) by God, signaling a transition from punitive judgment to compassionate grace. For the original audience, likely recently returned from exile, this verse served as a powerful reminder of God’s character as one who is truly merciful and willing to relent, providing a firm historical and theological anchor for their renewed prayers for peace and restoration. It establishes that divine wrath, while real, is not God's ultimate and unending disposition towards His chosen, but that His purpose is ultimately to turn in favor towards those He has redeemed. This understanding undergirds all subsequent pleas for continued blessings and revival.