In verse 148a My eyes are awake before the watches of the night means that the psalmist lies awake the whole night; at the start of each of the periods into which the night was divided (usually reckoned as three), the psalmist still had his eyes open. Even during the night, when most people sleep, the psalmist lay awake to think about Yahweh’s laws (see similar statement in verse 55; for the verb meditate see verses 15a, 27b). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates line a “even at nighttime I still lie awake.”

In verse 148b the Masoretic text has the singular “your word,” which Revised Standard Version (thy promise) and others prefer; Good News Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New International Version, Bible en français courant follow some Hebrew manuscripts, the Septuagint, and Jerome, which have the plural “your words.”

In verse 149 the two lines are parallel: “according to your steadfast love” in line a is parallel with “according to your justice” in line b. It is not easy to decide what the Hebrew word translated “justice” (mishpat) means here; most translate as does Revised Standard Version. New Jerusalem Bible translates “as is Your rule,” taking the word to mean what it does in verse 132b. Bible en français courant has “your decisions”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “through your righteous decision”; New English Bible “by thy decree.” Good News Translation has taken the word here to mean what often the synonymous tsedeq means in similar contexts, “kindness, mercy, help.” It seems better to follow the other translations, especially Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. If the translator follows the model of Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, it may be necessary to recast this expression to say, for example, “keep me safe by deciding things fairly” or “preserve my life by making just decisions.” Instead of the singular form (as the Hebrew text can be read), some Hebrew manuscripts have the plural for “justice,” which Briggs, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, and New International Version prefer; here the singular seems preferable (Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, New American Bible, Good News Translation, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy).

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 .