In verse 10 God himself speaks to the nations (Anderson thinks the words are addressed to the people of Israel): “Stop fighting” is what he commands. The traditional Be still is widely misunderstood as a command to be reverent (in church) and meditate on God’s blessings. The Hebrew verb means to cease, be inactive. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “Surrender!”; Bible de Jérusalem, Bible en français courant “Stop”; New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible “Desist!”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “Drop your weapons!”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “Make peace.”

Know is used in the sense of acknowledge, recognize, admit, confess. Know that I am God can sometimes be translated “learn that I am God” or “see that I am God.”

I am exalted in verse 10b-c means “I rule” (Bible en français courant), “I am above” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), “I dominate” (New Jerusalem Bible). Some take it as a future: “I will be exalted” (New International Version). The expression I am exalted among the nations must be shifted to an active construction in many languages; for example, “The nations praise me, the people of the world say that I am great.”

The refrain in verse 11 is the same as verse 7.

For Selah see 3.2.

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 .