Text -- Psalms 11:3 (NET)

11:3 When the foundations are destroyed, what can the godly accomplish?”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 11:3

¹ tn The precise meaning of this rare word is uncertain. An Ugaritic cognate is used of the “bottom” or “base” of a cliff or mountain (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47, 159). The noun appears in postbiblical Hebrew with the meaning “foundation” (see Jastrow 1636 s.v. שָׁת).

² tn The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense. Note the plural form “pure [of heart]” in the previous verse.

³ sn The quotation of the advisers’ words (which begins in 11:1c) ends at this point. They advise the psalmist to flee because the enemy is poised to launch a deadly attack. In such a lawless and chaotic situation godly people like the psalmist can accomplish nothing, so they might as well retreat to a safe place.