It seems that my people in this verse indicates that Yahweh is the speaker; Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch make this explicit. However, commentators are not agreed. The third person reference to the LORD in the last line may indicate that the psalmist is the speaker.
The questions are rhetorical, implying amazement that people who know better do not act properly. Yahweh condemns the evildoers as deliberately disregarding the divine punishment which they will receive for their sins. Of course they know what they are doing and what are the consequences of their evil deeds. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates as a statement of fact.
The Good News Translation question without an object may require some recasting in translation; for example, “Don’t evil people know anything?” In languages where the rhetorical question demands a reply, one may say “Don’t evil people know anything? Of course, they know.” In some languages it will be preferable to translate line a as a negative statement: “Evil people seem to know nothing at all, but they really know what they are doing.”
The second line of the Hebrew text is difficult to understand; it is literally “eating my people they eat bread.” There are various explanations: some change the text to get “they eat my (that is, Yahweh’s) bread,” which implies that these evildoers are corrupt priests. Most, however, take the line in a general sense, as do Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New English Bible, New American Bible, and others. Moffatt has “who devour my people with extortion”; Bible en français courant “who nourish themselves by exploiting my people”; another possibility is “who live in plenty by exploiting my people.” New English Bible has “who devour my people as they eat bread” (that is, who think no more of “devouring” God’s people than they do of eating food); New Jerusalem Bible has two lines: “they are devouring my people, this is the bread they eat.”
Many languages use the word eat with the meaning of destroy or exploit, and therefore in these languages it will be quite natural to say “evil people eat my people.” In order to avoid the repetition of “people,” my people may be translated by an expression showing relationship to God; for example, “evil people eat those who follow me” or “evil men eat those who obey me.”
Bread is not a universal food, and translators should not force its use and give the impression that eating bread is a common act. In some areas bread is nearly unknown. In others it is known but eaten only on ceremonial or festival occasions, or by people who live in cities. The most commonly consumed daily food should be used. In some areas it will be appropriate to say “Evil people eat my followers as commonly as they eat their cassava” or “… just as they eat corn,” or more generally “… as they eat their food.”
Call upon the LORD: the Hebrew expression “to call upon Yahweh” means to pray to him, to invoke his name in worship.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .