Hearken translates another Hebrew verb meaning “listen, pay attention.”
In this psalm God is addressed as my King, a common designation for God in prayer (see 84.3). Good News Translation has reversed the order, “my God and my king,” so as to avoid the possibility that the person who hears the text being read may misunderstand that a human being is being addressed, my King, as well as my God. If the translator follows either Revised Standard Version, my King and my God, or Good News Translation, “my God and king,” the phrase may be misunderstood to mean two different persons. In such a case the expression may be recast in the form of a relative clause; for example, “my God, who is my king.”
There is a difference of opinion about the third line of verse 2: some connect it with what precedes (Revised Standard Version, An American Translation, New American Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy); others connect it with what follows (Good News Translation, New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant). The meaning is not greatly affected by the difference, and a translator should feel free to choose either one. In the Masoretic text division of verses, O LORD is at the beginning of verse 3. For better balance of lines, Good News Translation places the verse number 3 at the beginning of the following line (see New Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible, which do not).
In verse 3 the Hebrew word for morning is used twice; Good News Translation uses the synonyms “morning” and “sunrise” for greater poetic effect.
Languages divide time in very different ways, and it is often necessary to decide if the time referred to is before sunrise, during sunrise, or immediately following sunrise. The essential feature here is early morning daylight and corresponds in time to what is known to Muslims as salat al fajar, which is the first and earliest of the five daily prayers.
The choice between Good News Translation “offer my prayer” and Revised Standard Version prepare a sacrifice (see Good News Translation footnote) depends on the exegesis of the Hebrew verb, which means “to put in order, to arrange” (see Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “I get everything ready for you”). It is disputed whether it refers to prayer (Delitzsch, Briggs, Kirkpatrick, An American Translation, Moffatt, New American Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible) or to a sacrifice (Weiser, Oesterley, Taylor, Toombs, Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, Zürcher Bibel). New Jerusalem Bible and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy have “I lay my case before you,” and Bible en français courant “I prepare myself to be received by you, and I wait.”
Some languages render “prayer” as “speaking to God.” Since the exegetical opinion is quite divided between “prayer” and “sacrifice,” it is recommended that there be a note for the meaning not employed in the text.
And watch is a literal translation of the Hebrew; in the context of prayer it means “and wait for your answer” (Kirkpatrick); Knox has “await thy pleasure.”
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 .