In this section (verses 28-34) the psalmist praises God for his goodness to him.

Yea is not commonly used and is not required in translation by the Hebrew text.

The statement thou dost light my lamp (in the parallel 2 Sam 22.29 “thou art my lamp”) is a figure meaning that Yahweh gives life, vitality, prosperity, health. Lamp here is not a metaphor for wisdom or knowledge. The idea is not that God dispels the darkness of ignorance, but rather the darkness of sin, destruction, and death, and continuously gives the psalmist life and strength (as the next verse makes clear). For the same figure for the Law of Yahweh, see 119.105a. The lamp in those days was a small clay bowl, filled with olive oil, with a wick floating in it, one end protruding through a spout on the side of the bowl.

In some languages it is necessary to state a reason for the statement light my lamp; for example, “LORD, you put a light in my path so I can see.” The second line is difficult to translate whether one follows Good News Translation or Revised Standard Version, since in many languages one does not perform an action on darkness in order to produce light. It is possible, however, to say “you make a light and the darkness is gone” or “when you make light there is no more darkness.”

It is to be noticed that the Hebrew (see Revised Standard Version) addresses God in the second person in line a and refers to him in the third person in line b. As is often done, Good News Translation maintains the second person of address in both lines.

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 .