There is a great difference of opinion among commentators and translators on the meaning of this verse. Literally the Hebrew says “concerning (or, to) the holy ones which (are) in (or, of) the earth (or, land) they and the mighty ones, all my delight (is) in them.” Revised Standard Version renders this As for the saints in the land, they are the noble. Good News Translation has taken “the holy ones in the land” and “the mighty ones” (in the sense of “excellent”) as a double reference to faithful Israelites: “How excellent are the LORD’s faithful people”; similarly Bible en français courant.

However, the Hebrew expression for “the holy ones” may mean Canaanite gods or foreign gods in general (see Anderson). Dahood, who believes the author is a Canaanite who converted to Yahwism, takes this as a reference to the past: “As for the holy ones who were in the land, and the mighty ones in whom was all my delight” (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). New English Bible rearranges the text and changes some words to get “The gods whom earth holds sacred are all worthless, and cursed are all who make them their delight”; there are two alternatives in the margin. New Jerusalem Bible takes the word to refer to divine beings and translates “As to the holy and mighty ones that are in the land, my whole desire concerning them is that….” Briggs prefers to follow the Septuagint, translating “To the saints who are in the land, Yahweh makes wonderful all His good pleasure in them” (similarly Weiser). Another possible version is “As for the gods in the land, the mighty ones in whom I take no pleasure” (with note and alternative renderings in the margin). Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates verses 3-4a “The idols of the land are powerful, according to those who delight in them, who increase the number of their images and follow them with great devotion.” Bible en français courant translates verse 3: “As for the faithful ones who are in the land, they are the ones who have the true greatness that I respect”; a footnote indicates that the translation involves two minor conjectures. In the face of such diversity of opinion, a translator must be content with providing a rendering about which he or she cannot be certain. The best thing to do is follow Revised Standard Version or Bible en français courant. Unlike Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, there should be a footnote indicating that the Hebrew text is very uncertain.

In this verse the translator must decide which of various interpretations to follow. If the Hebrew term is rendered saints, as in Revised Standard Version, it may be necessary to avoid the idea of church images or pictures. Likewise to be avoided is a description of the moral character of a certain class of saintly people. Saints used in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament refers to “God’s people” or “people belonging to God.”

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 .