Introduction

The Hebrew text of this verse reads:

כִּ֣י הַ֭שָּׁתוֹת יֵֽהָרֵס֑וּן

צַ֝דִּ֗יק מַה־פָּעָֽל

The ESV is representative of the vast majority of modern translations of this verse:

"If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (ESV/NRSV, cf. NIV, KJV, NET, NEB, NJB, JPS1985[1], EÜ, ZÜR, RVR95, NVI, DHH)

Despite the agreement among modern translations of this verse, the verse is not easy to interpret. There are several issues involved in the interpretation of this verse:

The meaning of הַשָּׁתוֹת (v. 3a)
1. "Foundations" (literal)
2. "Foundations" (figurative)
The meaning of כִּי (v. 3a)
1. Conditional ("if")
2. Causal ("for")
The verbal semantics of v. 3ab
1. Irrealis ("if" / "then")
2. Future / Past
The identity of צַדִּיק (v. 3b)
1. YHWH, the Righteous One
2. Generic righteous person

Argument Maps

The Meaning of הַשָּׁתוֹת

The noun שתות occurs only here in the Bible. Most scholars today agree, however, that it means "foundations" (BDB, HALOT, DCH, SDBH). The questions is whether "the foundations" are literal (i.e, the foundations of a city wall) or figurative (i.e., the moral or legal foundations of society).

"Foundations" figurative


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["Foundations" (figurative)]: The word הַשָּׁתוֹת means "foundations" and refers figuratively to "the foundations of law and order" or "the foundations of society" (NLT, cf. Jerome, Symmachus, BDB :L:, DCH :L:). #dispreferred
 + <Ancient support>:Some of the ancient translators understood the word in this sense. #dispreferred
  + [Ancient support]: Symmachus (οι θεσμοι), Jerome (leges). #dispreferred
 + <Ps. 82:5>: In Ps. 82:5, "the earth's foundations" (מוֹסְדֵי אָרֶץ) refers to the foundations of society. #dispreferred

"Foundations" literal (preferred)


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["Foundations" (figurative)]: The word הַשָּׁתוֹת means "foundations" and refers literally to "the foundations" of an architectural structure, perhaps a city wall (Quine 2017 :A:).
 + <Context (vv. 1-2)>: The previous verses suggest a context of siege warfare. In this context, "foundations" is best understood literally as the foundations of the city wall or citadel.
  + <"Bird" (v. 1)>: The image of a bird trapped or fleeing is associated with siege warfare (Quine 2017 :A:).
   + [Sennacherib siege of Jerusalem]: E.g., "As to Hezekiah the Jew, he did not subject to my yoke, I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, walled forts, and to the countless small villages in their vicinity and conquered (them)... Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage" (ANET 288, Annals of Sennacherib).
  + <"Bows" (v. 2)>: Bows were a critical offensive weapon in a siege (cf. Eph'al 2013:87 :M:; Schwartz 2018:509 :A:).
   + [Siege of Lachish]: See e.g., the 8th-7th century BC relief of the Assyrian siege of Lachish.
  + <"Foundations" (v. 3)>: Cities are protected by fortifications (e.g., walls and towers), which have foundations (e.g., Mic. 1:6), and a besieging army might attempt to destroy the foundations of these fortifications (cf. Yadin 1963:16-20 :M:).
   + [Roman Siege of Jerusalem]: "...they undermined its foundations, and with great pains they removed four of its stones..." (Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, 6.15ff).

Verbal Semantics and כִּי

There are at least two ways of interpreting the semantics of כִּי and the verbs in this verse:

The כִּי is conditional ("if") or temporal ("when"), and the verbs are irrealis: "if/when the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
The כִּי is causal ("for"), and the verbs are future and past respectively: "For the foundations will be destroyed. What has the righteous one done?"

The arguments for and against these views are given below.

"If" (v. 3a) / "Then" (v. 3b)


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["When/If... what can...?"]: The clause in v. 3a is the protasis ("if the foundations are destroyed") and the clause in v. 3b is the apodosis ("what can the righteous do?"). #dispreferred
 + [כי conditional or temporal]: The כי is cataphoric and conditional or temporal ("if/when"). #dispreferred
  + <כי as conditional/temporal>: כי is often cataphoric and conditional or temporal (cf. BHRG 40.29.1 :G:). #dispreferred
 + [פָּעָל modal]: The qatal verb פָּעָל has modal/irrealis semantics ("what can the righteous one do?"). #dispreferred
  - <Qatal not modal>: Qatal is typically past-tense indicative, not modal (BHRG 19.1.5 :G:). If the psalmist meant to say, "what can the righteous do?" he would have probably used a yiqtol instead of a qatal (Baethgen 1904:31 :C:; cf. Briggs 1906:90 :C:; Craigie 2004:131 :C:; Calvin :C:).
   <_ [Potential perfect]: "The perfect tense in this line has a very rare nuance of potential perfect, 'what can they do?'" (Ross 2011:340 :C:). #dispreferred

Future (v. 3a) / Past (v. 3b) (preferred)


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["Future / Past"]: The clause in v. 3a is future ("For the foundations will be destroyed") and the clause in v. 3b is past ("what has the righteous one done?").
 + [כי as causal]: The כי is causal ("For").
  + <Ancient witnesses>: All of the ancient translators of this passage understood the כי as causal.
   + [Ancient witnesses]: LXX (οτι), Aquila (οτι), Symmachus (οτι), Syriac (ܡܛܠ), Jerome (quia), Targum (מטול), Άλλος (οτι).
  + <Parallel with v. 2>: Given the similarity of the ki clause in v. 3a to the previous ki clause in v. 2a (ki + NP + yiqtol with final nun), it is best to interpret them in the same way (cf. Hupfeld 1855:237 :C:; Hengstenberg 1863:178 :C:). Because the previous ki clause (v. 2a) is clearly causal (stating a reason why David should flee), the second ki clause (v. 3a) should be read similarly: as providing another reason for David to flee.
 + [פָּעָל past indicative]: The qatal verb פָּעָל is past-perfective indicative ("what has the righteous one done?").
  + <Qatal>: Qatal is typically past-tense indicative (BHRG 19.1.5 :G:).
  + <Ancient witnesses>: All of the ancient translators of this passage understood the verb as past tense.
   + [Ancient witnesses]: LXX (ἐποίησεν), Aquila (κατειργασατο), Symmachus (εδρασεν), Syriac (ܥܒܕ), Jerome (operatus est), Targum (עבד).

The Identity of צַדִּיק

Another issue in this verse is the identity of "the righteous one" (צַדִּיק) in v. 3b. There are at least two options:

YHWH, the Righteous One
A generic righteous person


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[Generic righteous person]: "The righteous one" (צַדִּיק) is a generic righteous person (most interpreters).
 + <Substantival צַדִּיק referring to people>: צַדִּיק as a substantival adjective almost always refers to a person or to people and only rarely to God (DCH :L:).
 + <"Upright in heart" (v. 2)>: The previous verse (v. 2) mentions "those who are upright in heart," making them the most likely referent of צַדִּיק.

[YHWH the Righteous One]: "The righteous one" (צַדִּיק) refers to YHWH (cf. Ehrlich 1905:23; Dahood 1966:69; Zenger 1993:91). #dispreferred
 + <Coherence>: "The sense of this much-canvassed verse becomes pellucid once צַדִּיק is recognized as a divine appellative which recurs in Pss 31:19 and 75:11" (Dahood 2008:69 :C:). #dispreferred
 - <Substantival צַדִּיק referring to people>

Conclusion

"For the foundations are about to be destroyed. What has the righteous (person) done?"

The siege imagery in the previous verses ("bird" v. 1, "bows" v. 2) suggest that "the foundations" are literal foundations (i.e., the foundations of the city wall).
Despite the fact that virtually all modern translations interpret the qatal in v. 3b as a modal ("what can the righteous do?") there is little support for this interpretation. Qatal is typically past-perfective and indicative, and this is the way in which all of the ancient translators understood it. If the psalmist meant to say, "what can the righteous do?" he would have probably used a yiqtol instead of a qatal.
If the qatal is understood as past tense indicative, then there is no reason to see the כִּי as conditional/temporal ("if/when"). Given the syntactic similarities between v. 3a and v. 2a, it is more likely that the כִּי in v. 3a functions the same as the causal כִּי in v. 2a. The interpretation of כִּי in v. 3a as causal is also supported by all of the ancient translations.
Finally, the צַדִּיק ("righteous one") is probably a reference to a generic righteous person or group and not a reference to YHWH. This is because צַדִּיק, as a substantival adjective, almost always refers to people and rarely to YHWH. Furthermore, the mention of "upright in heart" in v. 2c makes it likely that this same participant is in view in v. 3b.

Research

Translations

Ancient

LXX – ὅτι ἃ κατηρτίσω, καθεῖλον / ὁ δὲ δίκαιος τί ἐποίησεν;
Aquila – οτι οι θεμελιοι καθαιρεθησονται / δικαιος τι κατειργασατο;
Symmachus – οτι οι θεσμοι κατεληθησαν / δικαιος τι εδρασεν;
Άλλος – οτι αι διδασκαλιαι συντριβησονται
Syriac – ܡܛܠ ܕܡܕܡ ܕܥܬܕܬ ܣܚܦܘ ܙܕܝܩܐ ܕܝܢ ܡܢܐ ܥܒܕ܂
Jerome – quia leges dissipatae sunt / justus quid operatus est
Targum – מטול דאין אשייתא יתרעון זכאה מטול עבד טובא צדיקא ׃

Modern

Foundations: "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (NRSV/ESV, cf. NIV, KJV, NET, NEB, NJB, JPS1985^[1], EÜ, ZÜR, RVR95, NVI, DHH)
Foundations figurative: "The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?" (NLT, cf. LUT, HFA, GNB)

Secondary Literature

References

11:3 Approved

↑ Footnote: 'Or “For the foundations are destroyed; what has the Righteous One done?” Or “If the foundations are destroyed, what has the righteous man accomplished?”'

[1] Footnote: 'Or “For the foundations are destroyed; what has the Righteous One done?” Or “If the foundations are destroyed, what has the righteous man accomplished?”'

[1]

The Semantics of Ps. 11:3

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