Now the psalmist (verse 24) breaks into praise of Yahweh’s wisdom in creating so many different things. The expression In wisdom and Good News Translation‘s “How wisely” will have to be recast in some languages to say, for example, “You were very wise when you made…” or “Because you are very wise, you made….” In line c the word creatures translates a Hebrew word which occurs in Psalms only here and in 105.21; it seems to mean possessions, property. Most translations have creatures or “creations.” The verb related to creatures can mean either “acquire” or “create” (see 139.13a); and in Genesis 14.22 the verb is used to speak of God as the Creator. In some languages creatures will have to be rendered as “the animals which you created” or “the things you gave life to.”

In verse 25 the sea, great and wide, is singled out, emphasizing the fact that, like the moon and the sun in verse 19, it too is a part of God’s creation and is entirely subordinate to him. Likewise all living beings in the seas are God’s creation.

The mention of ships in verse 26a is rather strange, since they can hardly be counted as Yahweh’s creation; some (see Weiser) have proposed to change to a word meaning “monsters,” but this has not been widely accepted. Briggs attributes the line to a later unimaginative editor. These are, of course, sailing ships.

For Leviathan see 74.14; this huge sea monster is also God’s creation. The Hebrew text may mean either (1) “Leviathan, that one you made to play in it (that is, in the ocean)” (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New International Version, New English Bible footnote); or (2) “Leviathan, that one you made to play with” (Weiser, New English Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Good News Translation footnote, Dahood; see Job 41.5). The majority favor (2), and the translator may prefer it.

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 .