In this strophe (verses 3-5) the psalmist speaks of the happiness of having many children. The two lines of verse 3 are parallel and synonymous. Sons parallels the fruit of the womb, and heritage parallels reward. For heritage see 16.6. The parallel reward translates a word that means “wages”; there may be the connotation of being a payment for good deeds, but in parallel with heritage the word stresses the idea of an unearned gift. Good News Translation‘s “a real blessing” tries to bring out the idea of the LORD’s generosity in giving children. It is better to translate “Children” in verse 3a instead of sons, since the parallel fruit of the womb includes both male and female offspring. In some languages it may be necessary to recast Good News Translation‘s “gift from the LORD” and say, for example, “The LORD blesses people with children” or “The LORD gives people children, and these are a blessing.”

In verse 4 a man’s sons are compared to the soldier’s arrows; they are a guarantee of security. Naturally they are of greater benefit if they are born when the father is young (the sons of one’s youth), because they will be old enough to provide him real security when he is old. In languages in which arrows are unknown, the simile may not be useful. The translator may search for an equivalent comparison or avoid the comparison and say, for example, “(they) can defend him from his enemies.”

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 .