In this strophe the psalmist relates the journey through the wilderness, on the way from Egypt to Canaan (verse 16), the defeat of enemy kings (verses 17-20), and the conquest of Canaan (verses 21-22).

Verses 17-18 are parallel and synonymous; for Sihon and Og (verses 19-20) see 135.11.

For verses 21-22 see 135.12. Israel his servant (verse 22) is not a common phrase in the Psalms but occurs often in Isaiah (see 44.1, 2). Here Israel means the Israelites. It is to be noticed that in verse 21 it is not said to whom Yahweh gave the lands of the defeated kings; this information is given only in verse 22 (see Revised Standard Version). Good News Translation introduces in verse 21 “his people” as a parallel to “Israel, his servant” in verse 22. In verse 22 the expression Israel his servant may have to be recast to say, for example, “the people of Israel, who serve him.”

The sequence of events in verses 16-22 may again require omission of the refrain until the end of verse 22. However, here the sequence is not as fixed as in the previous verses.

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 .