I take refuge translates the verb used in 2.12. It may be that the phrase which Good News Translation translates “I come to you” refers specifically to the Temple, where the psalmist would have gone for the ritual in which he would declare his innocence and wait for God to acquit him. I take refuge may have to be recast with two verbs and two different subjects; for example, “I come to you and you take care of me.”

The two verbs save and deliver are used synonymously (see comments on 6.4). It is not always possible to find synonyms for save and deliver. In some languages to preserve the parallelism a single expression may have to be used twice. Some languages express save as “to cause one to see life” or “to snatch someone away from death.”

My pursuers is the way the psalmist describes his enemies (see also verse 5). This may be better rendered “those who persecute me.”

In some languages it will be necessary to express the purpose of being pursued. In other cases my pursuers must be recast as a verbal phrase, and therefore it may be necessary to say, for example, “save me from my enemies who hunt me like an animal” or “… who chase me in order to harm me.”

Good News Translation has restructured verse 2 in order to get the various items in their proper order, “carry me off … and … tear me to pieces.” Rend me translates the Hebrew expression “tear my nefesh to pieces” (see comments on 3.2). The language is vivid: the psalmist’s enemies will physically tear him limb from limb and kill him (see verse 5).

Enemies are often compared to a lion in the Book of Psalms, indicating their ferocious, destructive nature (see 10.9; 17.12; 22.13). In languages where the lion and its hunting habits are not known, it is often necessary to introduce a classifier such as “wild animal”; for example, “wild animal called lion.” Or it is necessary to replace it by a known animal of the same kind, such as a leopard. If neither is available, lion can be replaced by “wild animal.” If the substitution of “wild animal” results in weakening the feeling aroused by the simile, then it is better to restructure in nonfigurative language; for example, “or else they will drag me off” or “If you don’t save me, my enemies will tear me to pieces.”

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 .