These verses are paralleled in 136.17-20. For the defeat of Sihon see Numbers 21.21-24; Deuteronomy 2.30-33; and for the defeat of Og see Numbers 21.33-35; Deuteronomy 3.1-6. Amorites is a general term for the original inhabitants of the land of Canaan; Sihon’s kingdom was north of Moab, on the east side of the Dead Sea; Bashan was a territory further north, east of Lake Galilee. These two kings, on the east side of the Jordan River, were the first two rulers defeated by the Israelites in their conquest of Canaan. The psalmist adds (verse 11c) and all the kingdoms of Canaan, thinking probably of those whose lands were on the west side of the Jordan River. In some languages it may be necessary to begin verse 11 by saying “those kings’ names were:….”

For heritage in verse 12, see 16.6. The Hebrew text repeats heritage in both lines, which Good News Translation maintains as “he gave.” It is not always necessary to preserve the parallelism, and in such cases one may translate “He gave their lands to his people” or “… to his people called Israel.”

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 .