In verse 22 ordinances and statutes are both synonyms of “the ways of the LORD” in verse 21; and the verbs in verse 22 were before me and not put away are also synonyms of “kept” and “not wickedly departed from” in verse 21.
The word translated ordinances is the word translated “judgment” in 7.6 (see comments); and statutes stands for a word which means a legal prescription, regulation, decree (see comments in 2.7 on “decree of Yahweh”). If the translator follows Good News Translation‘s “observed all his laws,” one must avoid the idea of merely looking at the laws without actually obeying them. In languages where it is not possible to render the synonyms ordinances and statutes as nouns, it is often possible to do so by verbs; for example, “I have obeyed everything he showed me to do” or “I have not refused anything he taught me to do.”
In verse 23 blameless translates the word meaning perfect (see “integrity” in 7.8); and the phrase before him may mean either in his presence or in his sight (that is, from his point of view); “in his sight” seems more probable. Good News Translation represents this meaning by “He knows that….” Blameless may often be rendered “no one can accuse me of doing wrong” or “I have done no evil things.”
Guilt is generally understood to refer to a person’s awareness of having done wrong and feeling bad about it. The Hebrew word is better represented by “evil” (New Jerusalem Bible), “sinning” (New Jerusalem Bible), “sin” (New International Version), or “doing wrong” (Good News Translation).
Verse 24 is practically a repetition of verse 20; recompensed translates the verb which appears also in verse 20b. As in verse 20, Good News Translation translates the verb as a continuous present (“rewards me”), while Revised Standard Version takes the verb to refer to past action (has recompensed me). Either is possible, but it seems advisable to follow Good News Translation here. The cleanness of my hands may sometimes be rendered idiomatically; for example, “because my heart is white” or “because my stomach is hollow.” As in verse 20, the translator should see if the intensification of line b is accomplished by placing the figure in the second line. If so, it may still be necessary to employ a different figure.
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 .