In verse 3 the word for fortress is the same as in verse 2; rock is here a different one from the one in verse 2, but it has the same meaning (it is also used in 18.2).

For thy name’s sake: see discussion at 23.3.

The two verbs lead me and guide me are used in 23.2, 3; here the two forms in Hebrew make for a pleasant alliteration: taneheni and tanahaleni.

For the phrase in verse 4 “to hide a net,” see the comments at 9.15. The expression take me out of the net gives the impression that the psalmist is already caught. However, see Good News Translation. The intention is that the writer asks to be spared from being caught in the trap. In some languages this can best be expressed, for example, “Don’t let me pass where my enemies have laid their traps” or “Guide me away from the hidden traps of my enemies.”

Refuge is the same word used in verse 2 “(a rock) of refuge.” The translator should follow Revised Standard Version in the last line, translating it as a statement, and not as a petition as in Good News Translation.

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 .