The psalm closes with the choice of David as king of Israel. Verses 70-71 in Revised Standard Version give the form of the Hebrew text, whose meaning Good News Translation has tried to express in less literal fashion: “pastures” for the sheepfolds and “flocks” for the ewes that had young; “king of Israel” and “the shepherd of the people of God” for shepherd of Jacob his people, of Israel his inheritance.
In the translation of verses 70-71, translators will have to decide first if the pastoral analogies can be meaningfully kept. If not, they may be substituted. However, in most cases it will be possible to maintain the reference to David as one who cared for his animals. The second decision will be regarding the purpose for which God chose David. In many languages it will be clearer to say “God chose David who was his servant to be king of Israel.” The second statement, which contains the circumstances under which David was chosen, can more naturally be followed by the shepherd analogy; for example, “God took David from the pastures, where he looked after his flocks, and made him the shepherd of the people of God.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates the two verses as follows:
70 He chose his servant David,
who was a shepherd of sheep;
71 he stopped him from walking behind the flocks
that he might take care of his people,
that he might be the shepherd of Israel.
In verse 72a Good News Translation “unselfish devotion” translates what is literally “perfection of heart.” Revised Standard Version and others take it to refer to David’s upright character. The idea of sincerity or devotion is expressed by Good News Translation and others; New American Bible and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy have “sincere heart”; New International Version “integrity of heart”; New English Bible “singleness of heart.” See 1 Kings 9.4.
In verse 72b skilful hand (Good News Translation “skill”) portrays David as a wise and competent king, who provided his people the leadership they needed. In some languages to guide with skilful hand may be translated “he led them well because he knew how,” “he showed them what to do and they did it well,” or idiomatically, “he went ahead of them and showed them how to follow him.”
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 .