Psalms 7:10

7:10 The Exalted God is my shield, ¹ 

the one who delivers the morally upright. ² 

Psalms 11:7

11:7 Certainly ³  the Lord is just; ⁴ 

he rewards godly deeds; ⁵ 

the upright will experience his favor. ⁶ 

Psalms 25:8

25:8 The Lord is both kind and fair; ⁷ 

that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live. ⁸ 

Psalms 32:11

32:11 Rejoice in the Lord and be happy, you who are godly!

Shout for joy, all you who are morally upright! ⁹ 

Psalms 33:4

33:4 For ¹⁰  the Lord’s decrees ¹¹  are just, ¹² 

and everything he does is fair. ¹³ 

Psalms 36:10

36:10 Extend ¹⁴  your loyal love to your faithful followers, ¹⁵ 

and vindicate ¹⁶  the morally upright! ¹⁷ 

Psalms 37:37

37:37 Take note of the one who has integrity! Observe the godly! ¹⁸ 

For the one who promotes peace has a future. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 107:7

107:7 He led them on a level road, ²⁰ 

that they might find a city in which to live.

Psalms 107:42

107:42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,

and every sinner ²¹  shuts his mouth.

Psalms 112:2

112:2 His descendants ²²  will be powerful on the earth;

the godly ²³  will be blessed.

Psalms 112:4

112:4 In the darkness a light ²⁴  shines for the godly,

for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just. ²⁵ 

[7:10]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “my shield is upon God” (cf. NASB). As in v. 8, עַל (’al) should be understood as a divine title, here compounded with “God” (cf. NIV, “God Most High”). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:45-46. The shield metaphor pictures God as a protector against deadly attacks.

[7:10]  ² tn Heb “pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[11:7]  ³ tn Or “for.”

[11:7]  ⁴ tn Or “righteous.”

[11:7]  ⁵ 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.”

[11:7]  ⁶ 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.

[25:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “good and just.”

[25:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “teaches sinners in the way.”

[32:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “all [you] pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 11:2; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[33:4]  ⁹ sn For the Lord’s decrees are just… After the call to praise (vv. 1-3), the psalmist now gives a series of reasons why the Lord is worthy of praise.

[33:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “word.” In this context, which depicts the Lord as the sovereign creator and ruler of the world, the Lord’s “word” refers to the decrees whereby he governs his dominion.

[33:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “upright.”

[33:4]  ¹² tn Heb “and all his work [is] in faithfulness.”

[36:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “draw out to full length.”

[36:10]  ¹² tn Heb “to those who know you.” The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “know”) is used here of those who “know” the Lord in the sense that they recognize his royal authority and obey his will (see Jer 22:16).

[36:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “and your justice to.” The verb “extend” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the previous line).

[36:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 11:2; 32:11; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[37:37]  ¹³ tn Or “upright.”

[37:37]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for [there is] an end for a man of peace.” Some interpret אַחֲרִית (’akharit, “end”) as referring to offspring (see the next verse and Ps 109:13; cf. NEB, NRSV).

[107:7]  ¹⁵ sn A level road. See Jer 31:9.

[107:42]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “all evil,” which stands metonymically for those who do evil.

[112:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[112:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “His seed will be mighty on the earth, the generation of the godly.” The Hebrew term דוֹר (dor, “generation”) could be taken as parallel to “offspring” and translated “posterity,” but the singular more likely refers to the godly as a class. See BDB 189-90 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.

[112:4]  ²¹ tn In this context “light” symbolizes divine blessing in its various forms (see v. 2), including material prosperity and stability.

[112:4]  ²² tn Heb “merciful and compassionate and just.” The Hebrew text has three singular adjectives, which are probably substantival and in apposition to the “godly” (which is plural, however). By switching to the singular, the psalmist focuses on each individual member of the group known as the “godly.” Note how vv. 5-9, like vv. 1-2a, use the singular to describe the representative godly individual who typifies the whole group.