In verses 11-13 the Hebrew noun malkuth is used, which Revised Standard Version consistently translates kingdom. Good News Translation has “royal power,” “kingdom,” and “rule.” The word has all these different connotations. The basic idea is that of the possession and exercise of God’s power as king; it does not have a geographical idea, the place where God’s kingship is exercised, as the word “kingdom” in English usually has; nor does it have a temporal idea, the time when it is exercised. It is God’s timeless and unlimited power as king of the universe and humankind. New Jerusalem Bible and New Jerusalem Bible have “kingship” in all three lines. Good News Translation‘s “royal power” may have to be recast to say, for example, “your powerful rule as king” or “they will speak of the great way in which you rule powerfully as king.” Glorious splendor of thy kingdom in verse 12b and glory of thy kingdom in verse 11a are synonymous.

In verse 12a Yahweh’s mighty deeds are probably the same as those referred to in verse 6a; for the sons of men see “children of men” in 11.4. Verse 12b is similar to verse 5a. In verse 12 the Hebrew text has the third singular pronoun “his”; translationally Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation change this to the second person of direct address, consistently with verses 11 and 13.

Verse 13a-b are two parallel and synonymous lines: Thy kingdom … thy dominion and everlasting … throughout all generations. This verse is found almost in identical form in Aramaic, in Daniel 4.3 (see also 4.34).

Verse 13c-d represents the fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the letter nun; these lines are missing in the Masoretic text, but they are found in the Septuagint and the Syriac, and in the margin of one Hebrew manuscript. And now it is also found in the Qumran manuscript, which has “God,” while the Hebrew manuscript (and the Septuagint and Syriac) has “Yahweh,” which most translations follow.

Words in line c may also be taken to mean “things, matters,” and the parallel his deeds in line d may argue for this meaning (so Anderson). Good News Translation, New English Bible, and Bible en français courant have “promises,” which is most probably the meaning intended here. In line d gracious translates the adjective chasid (see its use applied to people, “thy saints,” in verse 10b). The word means “one who shows chesed,” so it can be taken to mean “one who shows love” (Bible de Jérusalem) or “one who shows loyalty” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible); New American Bible has “is holy.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends either “loyal” or “merciful.” In light of the parallel with faithful in line c, perhaps New English Bible “unchanging in all his works” is preferable. This adjective is used of God only here, in verse 17b, and in Jeremiah 3.12. If the translator follows Good News Translation‘s “faithful to his promises,” this expression may have to be recast to say, for example, “The LORD is faithful to his people, and he does what he promised them he would do” or “The LORD is faithful to his people and keeps his word.”

Verse 14 speaks of Yahweh’s care for the oppressed and distressed. The two lines are parallel and synonymous: upholds … raises up and are falling … are bowed down. The same thought is also to be found in 146.8b. In some languages the expression “lifts those who have fallen” will be taken only in a literal sense. In such cases it may be better to use a different figure, or to say “he helps those who are discouraged,” or idiomatically, “he gives strength to those whose hearts are weak.”

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 .