They are new every morning: they, referring to “steadfast love” and “mercies” of verse 22, are said to be new every morning. New does not refer here to something that never existed before, but rather to a fresh renewal of what has been experienced before. Accordingly it may be better to say in some languages “every morning they are renewed,” or “they are fresh every morning,” or “each new day God makes his people see them as if for the first time.”

The whole of verse 23 in Good News Translation is a further description of “the LORD’s unfailing love and mercy,” and so it does not begin with a pronoun, as it does in Revised Standard Version. Good News Translation has also restructured the final phrase of verse 23 so that great is thy faithfulness is expressed as being dependable and regular: “sure as the sunrise.” In this case Good News Translation has shifted from nonmetaphor to metaphor and has done so in a manner which is particularly suitable in this context. The translator may follow this model, or may prefer to keep the nonfigurative great is thy faithfulness. God’s faithfulness is translated idiomatically in some languages; for example, “You are a one-hearted God,” “You are a God I can always count on,” or “You are a God on whom people can lean.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on Lamentations. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .