Psalms 85:12

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Yes, Yahweh will give that which is good. Our land will yield its increase.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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יְבוּלָֽהּ

yᵉbûwl

H2981

“produce · her”

Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular

Appears 13× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Leviticus 26:4

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H2986

TWOT: 835c

produce, fruit, produce (of the soil)

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

7: words
6: distinct lemmas
Wisdom: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is יְבוּלָֽהּ produce H2981 — appearing just 13 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

יְבוּלָֽהּ produce H2981 occurs in 13 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

2 verbs
3 nouns
1 adjective
1 particle

Verb forms

יִתֵּ֣ן Qal · Imperfect
תִּתֵּ֥ן Qal · Imperfect

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

יִתֵּ֣ן to give H5414 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 14 words from the Hebrew and 13 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 7 Hebrew tokens and 11 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Psalms 85:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.
Psalms 84:11 For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield. Yahweh will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.
Psalms 67:6 The earth has yielded its increase. God, even our own God, will bless us.
Leviticus 26:4 then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Isaiah 30:23–24 He will give the rain for your seed, with which you shall sow the ground; and bread of the increase of the ground, and it shall be fat and plenteous. In that day shall your cattle feed in large pastures;
1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ;
Psalms 72:16 There shall be abundance of grain throughout the land. Its fruit sways like Lebanon. Let it flourish, thriving like the grass of the field.

Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, To love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Zechariah 8:12 "For the seed of peace and the vine will yield its fruit, and the ground will give its increase, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.
Matthew 13:23 What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most assuredly bears fruit, and brings forth, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty."
Acts 21:20 They, when they heard it, glorified God. They said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.
Isaiah 32:15 until the Spirit be poured on us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest.
Matthew 13:8 and others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.
Acts 2:41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
1 Corinthians 3:6–9 I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

You’re reading Greek Psalm 84 (Hebrew Psalm 85). The Septuagint counts the superscription, so verse numbers can differ from the Hebrew — chapter-level alignment, not verse-by-verse. Numbering follows Rahlfs.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Psalms 85:12 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

גַּם יְ֭הוָה יִתֵּ֣ן הַטּ֑וֹב וְ֝אַרְצֵ֗נוּ תִּתֵּ֥ן יְבוּלָֽהּ

Yes, Yahweh will give that which is good. Our land will yield its increase.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Greek Psalm 84:12 Septuagint · lemma form

ἀλήθεια ἐκ ὁ γῆ ἀνατέλλω καί δικαιοσύνη ἐκ ὁ οὐρανός διακύπτω

For the Lord will give goodness; and our land shall yield her fruit.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Commentary

Notes on Psalms 85:12 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Commentary source

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Psa 85:12 Yea, the LORD shall give [that which is] good; and our land shall yield her increase.

Ver. 12. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good] Yea, best of all, viz. his Holy Spirit (Luk 11:13, with Mat 7:11), with a largess of outward comforts.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joseph Benson's Commentary

Psa 85:12-13. The Lord shall give us that which is good — That is, all that is good in itself, and good for us; all spiritual and temporal blessings. And our land shall yield her increase — The effects of the incarnation of Christ, the descent of the Spirit, and the publication of the gospel among men, are here, as frequently elsewhere, set forth in Scripture under images borrowed from that fruitfulness caused in the earth by the rain of heaven. Righteousness shall go before him — As his harbinger, or attendant. He shall work and fulfil all righteousness. He shall satisfy and glorify the righteousness of God, and shall advance the practice of righteousness and holiness among men. And shall set us in the way of his steps — That is, shall incline and enable us to walk in those righteous ways wherein he walked, and which he hath prescribed to us. “Draw us, blessed Jesus, and we will run after thee in the path of life; let thy mercy pardon us, thy truth enlighten us, thy righteousness direct us, to follow thee, O Lamb of God, whithersoever thou goest, through poverty, affliction, persecution, and death itself; that our portion may be for ever in thy kingdom of peace and love!” — Horne.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. A. Alexander on Psalms

Joseph Addison Alexander

13. (Psa 85:12). Jehovah also will give the (material or earthly) good, and our land will give its produce (or increase). In other words, the promise shall be verified that stands recorded in the Law (Lev 26:4), from which the form of the expression is borrowed, as it is in Psa 67:6.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 12. The Lord shall give - good] הטוב hattob, THE GOOD thing-what is the supreme good, the summum bonum, for which man has searched in vain through all his generations. Those who are reconciled to him through the Son of his love shall enjoy the favour of their God; to have which is the supreme happiness of man.

Our land shall yield her increase.] There shall be neither dearth nor barrenness; for truth, that springs out of the earth, shall yield an abundant harvest, in the conversion of all nations to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

John Calvin's Commentaries

12. Likewise, Jehovah will grant prosperity. Some take this verse allegorically, and interpret it of the increase of spiritual blessings; but this does not agree with the particle גם, gam, rendered likewise, by which the prophet, in my opinion, intends to express the completeness of that blessedness of which he had spoken. He therefore mentions the fruit of the earth, as an additional proof of God’s surpassing beneficence. The chief happiness of the Church is comprehended in these four blessings which he had specified; but the provision which is required for the support of our bodies ought not to be considered as unworthy of attention, provided our care about this matter is kept within proper bounds. If it is objected that these two subjects — the spiritual kingdom of Christ, and the fruitfulness of the earth, are improperly intermingled, it may be easily observed in reply, that there is nothing at all incongruous in this, when we consider that God, while he bestows upon his people spiritual blessings, gives them, in addition to these, some taste of his fatherly love, in the outward benefits which relate to the life of the body; it being evident from the testimony of Paul, that

“godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come,” (1 Timothy 4:8.)

But let it be observed, that the faithful generally have only granted to them a limited portion of the comforts of this transitory life: that they may not be lulled asleep by the allurements of earth. I have therefore said, that, while on earth, they only taste of God’s fatherly love, and are not filled with an overflowing abundance of the good things of this world. Moreover, we are taught from this verse, that the power and capacity of the earth to produce fruit for the sustenance of our bodies was not given to it once for all, — as the heathen imagine God at the first creation to have adapted each element to its proper office, while he now sits in heaven in a state of indolence and repose; — but that the earth is from year to year rendered fruitful by the secret influence of God, who designs hereby to afford us a manifestation of his goodness.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

12. Material prosperity will go hand in hand with moral progress. Earth responds to the divine blessing. Cp. Lev_26:4; Deu_28:12; Psa_67:6. The fruitfulness of the land is a constant feature in pictures of the Messianic future; and point is given to the promise by the fact that the returned exiles had been suffering from scarcity (Hag_1:10 f.).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good,.... Meaning not merely temporal good, as rain in particular, as some think, because of the following clause; but that which is spiritually good, his good Spirit and his grace, grace and glory: nor will he withhold any good thing from his people; every good and perfect gift comes from him:

and our land shall yield her increase; such who are like to the earth, which receives blessing of God, and oft drinks in the rain that comes upon it, and brings forth herbs to the dresser of it, Heb 6:2, these increase with the increase of God, bring forth fruits of righteousness, and grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ; though the whole may be interpreted of the incarnation of Christ, which agrees with what goes before and follows after; see Psa 67:6.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good - All that is truly good: all needful temporal blessings; all blessings connected with salvation.

And our land shall yield her increase - There shall be fruitful seasons, and the earth shall produce abundance. Compare the notes at Psa 67:6.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

That which is good, i.e. all that is good in itself and for us, all spiritual and temporal blessings.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Treasury of David

Charles H. Spurgeon

Ver. 12. Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good. Being himself pure goodness, he will readily return from his wrath, and deal out good things to his repenting people. Our evil brings evil upon us, but when we are brought back to follow that which is good, the Lord abundantly enriches us with good things. Material good will always be bestowed where it can be enjoyed in consistency with spiritual good.

And our land shall yield her increase. The curse of barrenness will fly with the curse of sin. When the people yielded what was due to God, the soil would recompense their husbandry. See at this day what sin has done for Palestine, making her gardens a wilderness; her wastes are the scars of her iniquities: nothing but repentance and divine forgiveness will reclaim her desolations. The whole world also shall be bright with the same blessing in the days yet to come,

"Freed from the curse, the grateful garden gives

Its fruit in goodly revenue. Nor frost,

Nor blight, nor mildew fall, nor cankerworm,

Nor caterpillar, mar one ripening hope.

The clouds drop fatness. The very elements

Are subject to the prayerful will of those

Whose pleasure is in unison with God's."

Ver. 12. It has sometimes been objected that the Christian doctrine of a Millennium cannot be true, for the earth could not support the teeming millions that would naturally be found upon it, if wars and vice should cease to waste its population. But omitting other and pertinent answers that have been given, we find one here that covers the whole ground, the earth shall yield her increase. Now and then the season is unusually propitious, and we have a specimen of what God can do when he chooses. He can without any miracle make it many times more fruitful than it has ever been. William S. Plumer.

Ver. 12.

I. All spiritual good is from God: The Lord will

give, etc.

1. Is repentance a good thing? The Lord will give repentance.

2. Is pardon? The Lord, etc.

3. Is faith?

4. Is justification?

5. Is regeneration?

6. Is growth in grace?

7. Is preservation unto the end?

8. Is eternal glory? The Lord will give, etc. II. All temporal good is from God. Our land, etc.

1. In a lawful manner our land.

2. In the use of appointed means: Shall yield her increase, etc.

3. In dependence upon the divine blessing. "Who giveth fruitful seasons, "etc. Spiritual good is not less given in the use of appointed means. G. R.

Ver. 12. The fertility of our spheres of labour the gift of God.

Psalms 85:13*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

12. Give that which is good—An expressive term, comprehending all that is intrinsically excellent and opportune.

Yield her increase—One of the greatest blessings to an over-burdened and poor population, always accepted as God’s special token of care. Psa_67:6; Lev_26:4

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; i.e. shower blessings on his laud, both spiritual and temporal. And our land shall yield her increase. Other crops may be included, but the special reference is to a large increase of good works.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

Righteousness will go before him and make a way for his footsteps

God doing what is right everywhere he goes is spoken of as if righteousness were a person who goes ahead of God and prepares a path for God to walk. (See: Personification)

his footsteps

Here "footsteps" represents where God walks. (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

Yahweh

bless

righteous

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

Truth will sprout from the earth, etc. When Israel will speak truth, the charity that they perform on earth will look down from heaven.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Psalms, in the Wisdom, opens this verse with 7 words (6 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is yᵉbûwl (“produce”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

What does “produce” (yᵉbûwl) contribute to the verse as a whole?
Leviticus 26:4 shares the word «produce» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
“to give” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
The verb «יִתֵּ֣ן» is Qal Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Joseph Benson's Commentary read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 7 Hebrew ↔ 11 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 11 words in this verse.
“to give” occurs 2× in this single verse.
6 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 7 words in this verse.