For Blessed is he see 1.1 and comments. The expression Blessed is he refers to the fortunate state of the person whose sins have been forgiven. In some languages the force of the congratulations implied is lost when stated in the third person. Therefore one must sometimes shift to the second person; for example, “How fortunate you are!” or “Congratulations to you!”

In verses 1-2 three synonyms are used for sin: the first one (transgression) is generally taken to indicate disobedience, rebellion against the divine will; the second one (sin) is misconduct, faulty action; the third one (iniquity) is wrong, evil. In verse 2b deceit stands for lie, hypocrisy, fraud; and spirit represents the inner self, the person’s character. In some languages it will not be possible to make the distinction in the nature of sins suggested here. However, in some languages it is possible to qualify evil deeds in order to approximate the suggested differences in meaning. The translator must be careful not to create complex syntactic problems in attempting to make these distinctions.

A poetic device sometimes used in parallelism is matching or contrasting genders. In verse 1, for example, the Hebrew noun translated transgression is masculine, and its parallel, sins, is feminine. In the following set of parallel lines, iniquity is masculine and deceit is feminine. One of the functions of this usage of genders in parallelism is to give the impression of completeness or to express harmony. In translation there may be nothing equivalent in the receptor language morphology or in the stylistics of its poetry. However, it is important for the translator to be aware of such Hebrew devices so that equivalent poetic devices may be used when available and appropriate.

In verses 1-2a three verbs are used for forgiveness: (1) “carry away” (the Hebrew for forgiven), sin being thought of as a burden; (2) “conceal, hide” (covered), sin seen as an imperfection, a defect which must be removed, or else as a stain which must be wiped out; (3) “not to regard as guilty” (imputes no iniquity), that is, to consider innocent. Some see in this last one a commercial figure, to cancel a debt (see New English Bible “the LORD lays no guilt to his account”). In the case of the second verb (verse 1b), the English verbal phrase is covered may suggest “covered over,” that is, disguised or concealed in such a way that it is not seen. This is not an adequate statement of what forgiveness involves, and a translator must be careful not to give the wrong impression.

Verses 1-2a are quoted in Romans 4.7-8 exactly as they appear in the Septuagint.

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 .