In the final strophe (verses 6-8) the psalmist reassures himself and his readers that Yahweh will keep his promise and will save those who trust in him. In liturgical usage perhaps this was the response of the congregation or of the choir to the assurance given in verse 5.

Using the figure of refined, pure silver, completely freed from all impurities, the psalmist calls the LORD’s promises pure: “the words of Yahweh (are) pure words.” The meaning is that they are completely true and reliable, they can be trusted.

For the verb refined see also 17.3; 18.30; 26.2; 66.10; 105.19; 119.140.

Purified translates a verb which means to wash, to clean, to filter out the dirt.

The two Hebrew words translated by Revised Standard Version as a furnace on the ground are problematic. The Hebrew text separates the two, so that the first part is “silver refined in a furnace,” and the second is “on the ground (or, earth) purified seven times.” The word translated furnace occurs only here in the Old Testament, and its meaning is uncertain (K-B and Holladay define it “entrance”). Dahood translates the two lines “silver purged in a crucible, of clay refined seven times”; Briggs proposes “he shall be purified seven times”; New Jerusalem Bible has “in an earthen crucible.” Toombs suggests that it is “probably a metal worker’s technical term, perhaps referring to the pouring of the melted silver into an earthen mold” (so, essentially, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). New Jerusalem Bible has “natural silver which comes from the earth seven times refined,” which is explained in a footnote as “already refined when found, God’s word is pure of any deceit.”

In view of such uncertainty, it seems best to translate this obscure phrase in a general sense, such as Good News Translation has done, or else, like New International Version, “like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.” It should be noted that seven times means many times in general, that is, as many times as needed to get rid of all the impurity.

Verse 6 presents the translator with several problems arising from the figurative analogy employed. In some languages it is quite natural to speak of words being pure, “clear,” or even “shining” and “white.” It is not so common, however, for promises to be described in such terms. Therefore the translator may have to say “The promises which the LORD spoke are pure words” or “The LORD spoke clean words when he promised….” Where the refining of silver is known, it is possible to translate lines b and c as a simile; for example, “they are like silver” or “they are pure like silver that has been refined over and over.” As an apposition: “they are pure silver refined many times.” Where silver is little known or unknown, but refining is well known, it may be possible to substitute another metal. If the refining of precious metals is not known in the receptor culture, the translator may have to drop the analogy. However, one should attempt to keep a reflection of the poetic imagery if possible; for example, “When the LORD promises, you can trust his words, you can depend upon them, they have been tested and proven over and over.”

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 .