Verse 11a Make your vows … and perform them is taken to mean “Fulfill now the vows you made when you were in danger” (see the similar command in 50.14b). The psalmist is speaking to the people of Israel, assembled for worship in the Temple.
In verse 11b Good News Translation translates all around him as “all you nearby nations,” because this seems to be a reference to foreign nations, in contrast with Israel in line a. But it may be that both lines refer to the people of Israel. The Good News Translation interpretation seems to be the better one.
Good News Translation “God makes me fear him” in line c translates what is literally “(to) the fear,” which is taken to indicate God as the one who causes humankind to fear him; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “to him who is worthy of fear” (which is like Revised Standard Version). Bible de Jérusalem translates as a title of God, “the Terrible”; Weiser “to the terrible God”; New Jerusalem Bible and New Jerusalem Bible, more appropriately, “the Awesome One”; Hebrew Old Testament Text Project “the dreadful one.” It is recommended that the translator follow either Revised Standard Version or New Jerusalem Bible.
In verse 12 Good News Translation “he humbles” translates he cuts off the spirit (or, breath). The verb “cut off” is used of gathering grapes at harvest; but K-B conjectures another verb, spelled the same way, meaning “to humble,” which appears only here in the Old Testament. The word ruach may mean “spirit” in terms of “life,” so that the statement may mean “he kills” (so Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible; presumably this is what Revised Standard Version means). Or it may mean “spirit” in terms of “pride, courage,” so that the meaning is “he humbles” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, New American Bible, Weiser); Bible en français courant has “he deflates the pride of princes.” It seems better to take it in the latter sense, since this is more closely parallel to the next line “and terrifies great kings” (see similar expressions in 48.4-6). The term princes refers to “rulers” and not simply to the sons of kings, and will therefore be translated as “rulers” or “chiefs” in some languages. Revised Standard Version terrible is a translation of noraʾ (see verse 7).
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 .