The prayer is that God will demonstrate the guilt of the psalmist’s enemies by punishing them. The Hebrew verb in line a means “hold guilty, declare guilty.” Dahood has “Punish them,” New English Bible “Bring ruin on them,” An American Translation and New Jerusalem Bible “Condemn them.” Good News Translation expresses the idea of their guilt and punishment by “Condemn and punish them.” In some languages where the implied legal procedure is lacking, it may be necessary to say, for example, “God, declare my enemies guilty and punish them,” or one may use a statement of cause and result, “because my enemies are guilty, punish them.”

The next request is that they be brought to ruin by their own evil plans (see 2 Sam 15.31). New Jerusalem Bible has “make their intrigues their own downfall”; New English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible “let them fall by their own devices.” Requests in English expressed with “may” or “let” must often be recast in translation; for example, “God, cause their own plots to ruin them.” In some languages such commands or requests may also be restructured as intensive future statements: “Their own plots will certainly cause their ruin.”

The psalmist speaks further of their “many sins” (Good News Translation) or many transgressions, and of their “rebellion” (Good News Translation), and prays to God, cast them out, which may refer to punishment in this life or else to the final condemnation and punishment on Judgment Day (see 1.5).

Counsels refers here to evil plans aimed at the destruction of someone. In translation it is often possible to say “plans made to harm others” or “decisions which aim to deceive people.”

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 .