The psalm ends with a prayer to Yahweh to take action against the nations.

Arise: see comments on 3.7. Prevail or “defy” (Good News Translation) translates a verb meaning “to be strong, overcome, prevail.” So Bible en français courant “don’t allow man to be stronger than you,” and New Jerusalem Bible “human strength shall not prevail.”

In the context of God judging the heathen, it would seem that prevail focuses mainly on being successful in court. Therefore Let not man prevail can be translated “Men must not win their case,” or “Men must not defend themselves successfully when you judge them,” or “… not be able to escape condemnation.”

The first line of verse 20 is literally “put terror to them, LORD”; but the Hebrew word translated “terror” by ancient versions and modern translations is not spelled as usual (see the commentaries; New Jerusalem Bible footnote). The Septuagint translated the consonants with different vowels, resulting in the word for “lawgiver,” as follows: “O Lord, appoint a lawgiver over them!” It is best to follow Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation here.

Men (“Mortal beings,” Good News Translation) translates the same word translated man in verse 19; the emphasis is on human beings as frail mortals, in comparison with the eternal God (see 10.18). The phrase may be rendered “all people are doomed to die”; for example, “that they are nothing more than people who are doomed to die.”

Selah: see 3.2.

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 .