In verse 23 ordinances and statutes are both synonyms of “the ways of the LORD” in verse 22; and the verbs in verse 23 were before me and not turn aside are also nearly synonymous with “kept” and “not wickedly departed from” in verse 22. In some languages translators may be forced to use similar or even identical vocabulary to translate some of these terms.
The word translated ordinances is the plural of the word translated “justice” in 8.15 and “judgment” in 15.2, 6 (see the comments). Statutes stands for a word that means “a legal prescription, regulation, decree.” It does not occur elsewhere in the books of Samuel but occurs quite frequently in other books, including Gen 26.5, along with other law synonyms. If translators follow Good News Translation‘s “observed all his laws,” they must avoid communicating 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 24 blameless translates the word meaning “perfect,” or “without spot or defect.” It involves having “integrity,” and this, in fact, is how it is translated in Psa 7.8. It may often be rendered by a verb phrase like “no one can accuse me of doing wrong,” “I have obeyed you completely,” or “I have done no evil things.”
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….”
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 Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “sin” (New International Version), or “doing wrong” (Good News Translation), since it refers more to the perverse deed and the consequences of the evil deed than to the sense of guilt.
Verse 25 is practically a repetition of verse 21; recompensed translates the verb, which appears also in verse 21b. As in verse 21, 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. My cleanness may sometimes be rendered idiomatically; for example, “because my heart is white” or “because my stomach is hollow.” Most manuscript evidence here favors this shorter expression rather than the similar one in verse 21 (“the cleanness of my hands”). Stuttgarter Erklärungsbibel and a few other translations follow the ancient versions that harmonize this verse with the parallels in verse 21 and Psa 18, but most follow the Masoretic Text, which receives a {B} rating from Hebrew Old Testament Text Project. But as in verse 21, the translator should see if the intensification of line b is accomplished by placing the figure of cleanness in the second line. Even if this is the case, it may still be necessary to employ a different figure.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .