In the hymn of praise to God’s goodness (verses 5-9), the four basic characteristics of Yahweh as the God of Israel are mentioned explicitly: steadfast love (see 5.7 and comments); faithfulness (ʾemunah), that is, keeping his promises to his people (see 12.1; 33.4 and comments); righteousness (see 5.8 and comments); and judgments (see 7.6 and comments). The last one, contrary to the others, appears as a plural in the Masoretic text; Briggs thinks that the original singular form of the text was changed by a copyist to the plural. Since the first three speak of God’s attributes and not specifically of his actions, it seems best to follow Good News Translation and New Jerusalem Bible here and translate “your justice.” All these qualities are manifested in the relation between Yahweh and Israel, as set forth in the covenant that he made with them.
In verse 5a the Hebrew can be translated “in the heavens” (the Septuagint, Briggs); but the parallelism with line b favors the idea of extends to the heavens (most translations); Dahood takes it to mean “from heaven.” The thought is that his qualities are beyond measuring, without any limits; they cover the whole universe. If the imagery of love having physical extension can be used, it may be possible to say, for example, “you love in such a great way it is like the distance from the earth to the sky.” If such a simile cannot be used, it may be necessary to omit the heavens and translate the comparison as “Your constant love is far greater than anything else” or “You always love your people far more than they can imagine.”
In verse 6a the Hebrew the mountains of God is taken by most to be a Hebrew way of saying “the highest mountains” or something similar (New English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy); see 68.15a; 80.10; 104.16. The quality evoked here is that of stability and permanence. Like the great deep compares God’s judgments to the ocean depths, emphasizing the idea of mystery and power. Or else the two lines, verse 6a-b, are an emphatic way of saying that God’s righteousness and judgments are all-encompassing, ranging from the highest peaks to the lowest depths of the earth. Poetic imagery is not always subject to logical analysis and definition. Line a may be recast in some languages with less poetic flexibility to say, for instance, “Your way of doing things fairly is as great as a mountain.” Line b may be said “you judge everything as fairly as the sea is deep.”
It will be noted that the simile is expressed with like in both lines of this verse in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. In line b in Hebrew there is ellipsis in the simile, so that like in line a is not expressed in line b. In other cases like is expressed only in the second line and omitted in the first. Whether or not ellipsis in simile can be retained depends on the poetic usage in the receptor language.
In verse 6c the verb “to save” (see “Help” in 12.1) in this context does not mean to rescue, but means to provide for, care for, supply the needs of. New Jerusalem Bible translates “You support,” New International Version “you preserve,” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “You take care of.” Yahweh provides for the needs of all living beings, animals and humans alike.
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 .