After the initial Praise the LORD (see 104.35), the psalmist calls upon all heavenly creatures to praise Yahweh. In the Hebrew, every half-line of verses 1-4 (except verse 4b) begins with the imperative “praise!” In verse 1 the heavens and the heights are synonymous, as are his angels and his host in verse 2 (see 103.20-21). Host in this context means “armies,” the angels being thought of as God’s warriors. It is to be noticed that the beings who are called upon in verses 1-2 to praise Yahweh are named only in verse 2 (see Revised Standard Version). Good News Translation, for greater ease of understanding, identifies them in verse 1b, “you that live in the heights above” (also Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Many translators will want to follow the adjustment of Good News Translation in verse 1, since in many languages only people and spirits are said to praise God. Because heavens and heights are synonymous, it may be necessary in some cases to use only “the heavens” or “the heavens above.”

In verse 3 sun, moon, and shining stars are called on to join the chorus of praise. In verse 4a highest heavens translates the Hebrew phrase “heaven of the heavens,” a way of expressing the superlative degree. In verse 4b waters above the heavens are the waters above the heavenly dome, which were regarded as the source of rain (see 104.3 and the illustration under 104.6). In languages which resist the poetic appeal to an inanimate object to perform human actions, it may be necessary to add a simile; for example, “Sun, moon, and stars that shine, praise him the way people praise him.” It is also possible to interpret the expression highest heavens as an idiomatic way of referring to heaven itself (Anderson), and this simplifies the task of rendering the expression for many languages which form superlatives in a complex manner. In languages which may have to add a simile in verses 3-4, it may be possible to do so only at the beginning of verse 3; for example, “Just like people praise the LORD, so also you sun, moon, bright stars, heaven, and water above the sky praise him.” Translators should, like Good News Translation, provide a cross reference to Genesis 1.6-7, and perhaps a note on “waters above the sky.”

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 .