What Does Psalms 85:5 Mean?

Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? These rhetorical questions express anguished concern that God's anger might continue indefinitely. The Hebrew form expects negative answer: "Surely you won't be angry forever?" The psalmist appeals to God's covenant character—His anger, though righteous, is temporary; His mercy endures forever (Psalm 30:5, 103:8-9). The questions aren't accusations but appeals grounded in revealed truth about God's nature.

"Wilt thou be angry with us for ever?" (hale'olam te'enaf banu, הַלְעוֹלָם תֶּאֱנַף־בָּנוּ) uses le'olam (לְעוֹלָם), meaning "forever, perpetually, to the vanishing point." The verb anaph (אָנַף) means "to be angry, to breathe hard with anger." The question acknowledges present divine anger but pleads that it not continue eternally. This appeal rests on scriptural precedent—God's anger is rega (רֶגַע, "a moment," Psalm 30:5), but His favor is chaim (חַיִּים, "life/lifetime").

"Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?" (timshokh apekha ledor vador, תִּמְשֹׁךְ אַפְּךָ לְדֹר וָדֹר) intensifies the concern. Mashakh (מָשַׁךְ) means "to draw, drag, extend"—stretching something beyond natural length. Dor vador (דֹּר וָדֹר, "generation to generation") emphasizes perpetual duration. The question fears that children and grandchildren will suffer for ancestors' sins indefinitely. Exodus 20:5 warns God visits "iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation," but also shows mercy to thousands of generations (Exodus 20:6). The psalmist appeals to this greater mercy.