Verse 54 speaks of the land of Canaan as God’s holy land and the mountain which his right hand had won. Land translates a word meaning “border, frontier”; by extension it means the territory enclosed within the borders. Holy in his holy land extends the use of “holy” to still another aspect of things which are in relation to God. (For a more detailed discussion of the concept of “holy,” see 28.2.) Holy land may sometimes be rendered “land that belongs to God,” “God’s own land,” or “land that God has set apart.”

The mountain (singular in Hebrew) can be a reference to Mount Zion (so Bible en français courant) or else is a term for the whole land. New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, and Dahood take the word “border” in line a as a synonym of “mountain” in line b. Oesterley thinks the verse speaks of Mount Sinai, but this does not seem very likely; most commentators take the singular the mountain to mean Mount Zion.

His right hand means “his power”; so Good News Translation “he himself conquered.”

Nations in verse 55a are the pagan nations defeated by the Hebrews; Deuteronomy 7.1 names seven of them.

Since there are two plurals in verse 55, one referring to the Hebrews and the other to the Canaanites, care must be taken that the two are clearly distinguished. Them in line a refers to the Hebrews; in line b it refers to the Canaanites.

Good News Translation “divided their land” in verse 55b translates “apportioned by lot,” a reference to the division of the land of Canaan among the tribes of Israel (see Josh 23.4). Apportioned them is misleading, since in the context them can refer only to the people (the Canaanites); the meaning is (in Revised Standard Version terms) “he apportioned their lands.” For possession see 16.6; here it means “for the Hebrews to possess.”

In line c their tents is too literal a translation of the Hebrew; “homes” or “houses” would be better (the Canaanites were not nomads).

This verse presents a problem for some languages in respect to the sequence of events. If the translator follows Good News Translation, the structure is that of simultaneous action in line a, “as the people advanced God drove out the inhabitants.” Lines b and c are subsequent actions of God, and in many languages it will be necessary to make this clear by saying, for example, “and then…,” or “and after that…,” or “after driving out the inhabitants….”

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 .