“The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 11:5 Mean?
Psalm 11:5 makes a statement that most people would rather skip: "The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth." God tests the righteous. God hates the wicked. Both are in the same verse, and both are about God's soul — His deepest, most personal engagement with human beings.
The word "trieth" — bachan — means to test, to examine, to prove by fire. It's the word used for refining metal — applying heat to reveal what's pure and burn away what isn't. God tests the righteous not to destroy them but to purify them. The testing is intentional, purposeful, and aimed at a good result. The righteous person under pressure isn't being punished. They're being refined.
The second half is the counterpoint that makes people uncomfortable: God's soul hates the wicked and those who love violence. The Hebrew nephesh — soul — means God's deepest self, His essential being. This isn't cold judicial disapproval. It's visceral. God's entire being recoils from wickedness and violence. The same God who "so loved the world" also has a soul that hates what destroys it. These aren't contradictions. They're both necessary truths about a God who is fully loving and fully just. A God who didn't hate violence wouldn't be good. A God who didn't love sinners wouldn't be gracious. David holds both without resolving the tension — because both are true, and both are God.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does knowing that God 'tries the righteous' change how you interpret the pressure and testing in your life?
- 2.Can you hold both truths — God tests the righteous and God hates the wicked — without collapsing one into the other?
- 3.Where has the 'fire' in your life revealed something genuine in you that you didn't know was there?
- 4.How do you respond to a God who has a soul that hates — does that feel contradictory to His love, or complementary?
Devotional
God tests the righteous. God hates the wicked. Both are real. Both are God. And both are happening simultaneously, all the time, to different people and sometimes to the same person.
If you're being tested — if life is applying heat and pressure to you in ways that feel unbearable — this verse reframes what's happening. You're not being punished. You're being refined. The test is proof of your standing, not evidence against it. God puts the righteous through fire because He knows there's gold in there, and fire is the only thing that separates gold from everything else. The pressure you're under isn't random. It's purposeful. And the purpose is purity.
The hatred clause is harder but equally necessary. God's soul hates the wicked and those who love violence. If that unsettles you, good — it means you take God's holiness seriously. But it shouldn't terrify you into wondering whether you're on the hated side. The test distinguishes. The fire reveals. If you're in the fire and still reaching for God — still trusting, still seeking, still holding on however imperfectly — you're the righteous being tried, not the wicked being hated. The fire proves which category you belong to. And the fact that you're feeling the heat rather than running from it is itself evidence that you're the gold, not the dross.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
The Lord trieth the righteous,.... As gold is tried in the fire, by afflictive providences; hereby he tries their…
The Lord trieth the righteous - That is, he “proves” them, searches them, tests the reality of their piety. His dealings…
The shaking of a tree (they say) makes it take the deeper and faster root. The attempt of David's enemies to discourage…
Each half of the verse is to be completed from the other. God proves and approves the righteous: He proves and rejects…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture