God’s protection is described by the metaphor My shield is with God, which means that God is the one who provides him with protection (see comments on “shield” in 3.3). Normally shield may be retained in translation if it is commonly used in a figurative sense; for example, as a comparison, “God is my shield” or “God is like a shield to me”; or if the shield is known but not used in these kinds of expressions, it may be sometimes used as an explained figure, “God defends me like a shield protects a warrior.”

The Hebrew word translated with by Revised Standard Version may be understood to mean “upon” (see New Jerusalem Bible footnote) or “near” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). New English Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, and New International Version supply other vowels to the Hebrew consonants to get “Most High.” Most translations take the line to mean “God is my shield.”

The upright in heart are those who follow God’s commands, who do what he requires; so Good News Translation “those who obey him.”

The phrase righteous judge, used of God, means that he judges people fairly and honestly.

Who has indignation every day (Good News Translation “Always condemns the wicked”) translates what is literally “who is indignant every day.” The idea of indignation is contained in the verb, which means “to scold, to curse”; here the meaning is not simply that of his attitude as an angry God, but as one who passes sentence, who condemns. So New Jerusalem Bible “pronounces doom.” Good News Translation has supplied “the wicked” as clearly implicit in the text. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “condemns evil at all times.” Also possible is “indignation against wrong.”

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 .