Psalms 11:7

Certainly ¹  the Lord is just; ²  he rewards godly deeds; ³  the upright will experience his favor. ⁴ 

Job 36:7; Ps 5:12; Ps 21:6; Ps 33:18; Ps 34:15; Ps 42:5; Ps 45:7; Ps 99:4; Ps 146:8; Isa 61:8; 1Pe 3:12

¹ tn Or “for.”

² tn Or “righteous.”

³ tn Heb “he loves righteous deeds.” The “righteous deeds” are probably those done by godly people (see v. 5). The Lord “loves” such deeds in the sense that he rewards them. Another option is to take צְדָקוֹת (tsÿdaqot) as referring to God’s acts of justice (see Ps 103:6). In this case one could translate, “he loves to do just deeds.”

⁴ tn Heb “the upright will see his face.” The singular subject (“upright”) does not agree with the plural verb. However, collective singular nouns can be construed with a plural predicate (see GKC 462 §145.b). Another possibility is that the plural verb יֶחֱזוּ (yekhezu) is a corruption of an original singular form. To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 17:15 and Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזָה (khazah), is used]). On the form פָנֵימוֹ (fanemo, “his face”) see GKC 300-301 §103.b, n. 3.