Psalms 5:12

Certainly ¹  you reward ²  the godly, ³  Lord. Like a shield you protect ⁴  them ⁵  in your good favor. ⁶ 

For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favour as with a shield.

For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.

For you bless the godly, O LORD, surrounding them with your shield of love.

You are famous, GOD, for welcoming God-seekers, for decking us out in delight.

For you, Lord, will send a blessing on the upright man; your grace will be round him, and you will be his strength.

For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover them with favor as with a shield.

For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Certainly ¹  you reward ²  the godly, ³  Lord. Like a shield you protect ⁴  them ⁵  in your good favor. ⁶ 

¹ tn Or “For.”

² tn Or “bless.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line highlight how God characteristically rewards and protects the godly.

³ tn Or “innocent.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense.

⁴ tn Heb “surround.” In 1 Sam 23:26 the verb describes how Saul and his men hemmed David in as they chased him.

⁵ tn Heb “him.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense and is thus translated “them.”

⁶ tn Or “with favor” (cf. NRSV). There is no preposition before the noun in the Hebrew text, nor is there a pronoun attached. “Favor” here stands by metonymy for God’s defensive actions on behalf of the one whom he finds acceptable.