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To go before the face of God to me implies me being judged, and is quite fearful. But "seeing God face to face" sounds more like God as He really is, with both His judgement and His mercy, and us humbly before Him but also with Him. Even Adam and Eve were promised His mercy, so I think the Hebrew might translate somehow into seeing Him face to face, at least in our American English way of thinking. I will try to better understand these verses that way, translating them for myself with this way of looking at them. - patricia