The psalm begins with an acclamation of Yahweh as king. The first line of verse 1 in Good News Translation will be rendered in some languages in the form suggested for the heading. Only in verse 1 is God spoken of in the third person. Good News Translation retains the third person here. However, in many languages, for consistency it will be better to switch to second person. The verb is in the perfect tense, which some believe means here “has become king,” with reference to an enthronement ritual in which Yahweh was depicted as taking his place on his throne (see Taylor; Weiser has “is become King”). But translations uniformly have “is king” or reigns.
His royal robes are described as majesty and strength. Two verbs are used in Hebrew: “clothe oneself” and “gird oneself”; for the latter verb see 65.6; see also 18.32, 39. In most translations the metaphors is robed in majesty … is girded with strength will have to be changed into similes: “his divine majesty and strength are to him like the splendid robes worn by a king,” or “he is dressed like a king and is powerful,” or “he is strong and wears the robe of a chief.”
The statement about the world is a consequence of Yahweh’s power as king; at the time of creation he set it firmly in place, and so it shall never be moved (see 96.10a-b). There is no power, human or otherwise, which can threaten the LORD’s sovereignty over the world (see also 104.5-9). The passive construction of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation will have to be recast in many languages so that God is the agent; for example, “you have set the earth firmly in place and nothing can move it.”
In verse 2 throne is a figure for Yahweh’s kingly power; he has been king from of old, from a very long time ago, that is, from the time he created the world.
God’s eternal existence is stated in verse 2b. The Hebrew is simply “you (are) from all time (past)” (see 90.2); this can be stated “You have always existed.” Instead of the Masoretic text “you (are),” the Targum has “you (are) God”; so New English Bible, Bible en français courant. But it is not necessary to abandon the Masoretic text (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, instead of repeating established from of old, says “ever since then….” One may also translate “and since then you have been king.” The expression “existed before time began” may be rendered in some languages as “you were there before people began counting years.”
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 .