Here the song begins to tell the story of the Israelites in the land of Canaan, after they settled down and became a strong, prosperous people.
He made him ride on the high places of the earth: the exact origin of the verbal phrase He made him ride (also Isa 58.14) is unknown. It seems to imply riding on an animal, perhaps a horse, but this cannot be proven. The usual phrase is “to walk [or, stride] on the high places” (see 33.29; Psa 18.33; Amos 4.13; Micah 1.3). But the meaning of this figure is quite clear; it means to be given possession of, to conquer, to own, to rule. Yahweh gave Israel the highlands of Canaan; so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “He set him atop the highlands” (see 8.7-9; Exo 15.17). This is not steep, mountainous country as such, but the highlands, as compared with the seacoast and lowland plains. The verbal phrase made him ride on is a poetic figure that means to give possession of or dominion over. Another way to express this sentence is “He let them [or, you] rule in the high country of Canaan.”
He ate the produce of the field: here the valleys and plains are joined to the highlands. Following the Samaritan text, the Septuagint, Syriac, and Targum, New Revised Standard Version has “and fed him” (that is, God fed Israel). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers the Hebrew Text, however ({A} rating), and this should be followed. He here, of course, refers to the Israelites. So in many languages something like “they [or, you] ate what grew in the fields” will be more satisfactory.
He made him suck honey out of the rock: the verb made him suck is figurative language in which to “suckle” a child is a picture of God tenderly feeding his people (see Gen 21.7). The text is talking about wild beehives found among clefts of rocks and crags, where the Israelites would get honey (see the figure in Isa 7.18-19). So Good News Translation has “they found wild honey among the rocks.”
And oil out of the flinty rock: this is olive oil, and the meaning is that olive trees were growing on rocky hillsides. Good News Translation offers a good model for the translation of the last part of the verse.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .