These two concluding verses are a poetic description of the crossing of the Sea of Reeds (or the Red Sea; see 106.7). In verse 19a-b, instead of “the waves” and “the deep sea” of Good News Translation, a better parallelism would be “the sea … the deep sea.”

The statement yet thy footprints were unseen may emphasize the fact that God himself, although present and in action to save his people, was never actually seen; it was faith and trust that made the people know that he was there. Or else, after he used the sea as a path, the deep water hid his footprints from sight (Dahood). In languages which do not use the passive, it will often be necessary to shift to the active; for example, “no one saw your footprints” or “no one could see where you passed by.”

In verse 20 the verb “to lead” is the same one used in 23.3. The text says like a flock; Good News Translation has “like a shepard” in order to keep the emphasis on God. “You lead your people like a shepherd leads his flock” can be used.

By the hand of means “under the leadership of” or “by means of”–the latter is probably to be preferred. Bible en français courant translates the whole verse “You used Moses and Aaron as shepherds for your people.” In languages in which shepherds are unknown, it may be best to avoid the pastoral analogy and say, for example, “you used Moses and Aaron to lead your people.” On the other hand, it may be possible to say something like “you caused Moses and Aaron to lead your people as a person leads his animals.”

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 .