The power of the invisible God of Israel is contrasted with the weakness of the gods of the Gentile nations, who are lifeless, powerless, ineffective.

In verse 3 the psalmist proclaims Yahweh as the all-powerful God in the heavens, who does whatever he pleases; his will is supreme, his power is limitless.

The “gods” of the heathen are only idols that people manufacture; they are objects made of silver and gold (verse 4). Their idols stands in sharp contrast to Our God in the previous verse, and in some languages it may be necessary to mark the contrast. They have no life in them, no power to act, no feeling (verses 5-7); see a similar passage in 135.15-17. Since verse 5a describes the idols’ inability to speak, it may be that in verse 7c they do not make a sound in their throat means that there is no breath going in and out of their windpipe; they do not breathe, they are dead (as the different language in 135.17b means). But no translation consulted gives this meaning. (As commentaries point out, this extra line in verse 7 departs from the pattern used and repeats, so it seems, the thought of verse 5a. It looks like a later addition to the text.)

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 .