Yahweh’s judgment on sinners is described in four different ways: (1) they may not stand, or “cannot remain,” in his presence (literally “cannot stand before your eyes”). Care should be taken in translating this expression, so as not to give the impression that the psalmist is talking about not going to heaven. The expression fits well with the idea of God as king (verse 2), who does not allow criminals and lawbreakers to come into his presence (see 101.7). So the translation can be “You do not allow proud people to come into your presence.” The main idea here is that God will not listen to their prayers as they come into the Temple to worship him; see the next verse and 15.1-5. The expression stand before thy eyes refers to entering God’s holy presence and is rendered in some languages as “enter where you are” or “come near to you.”

(2) The LORD “hates” them, (3) “destroys” them, and (4) abhors them. This is not simply descriptive; it is the psalmist’s way of calling down God’s anger and punishment on his enemies. All these verbs denote strong dislike, revulsion, and hatred, and are part of the very human vocabulary that the Old Testament writers use of God’s attitude toward sin.

In line b of verse 6, the LORD is referred to in the third person; Good News Translation keeps the second person, which is used in verses 4-6a.

The sinners are described as boastful, evildoers, those who speak lies, bloodthirsty, and deceitful. Bloodthirsty translates what is literally “man of bloods,” which may be translated as “the violent” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “murderous” (New Jerusalem Bible). In translation bloodthirsty or “murderous” must sometimes be rendered, for example, “people who want in their hearts to kill others” or “people who go about killing others.” The word translated deceitful may mean “traitors” (New English Bible); Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates “traitors and assassins,” and another possible version is “murderous and treacherous men.”

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 .