Verses 1 and 3 contain stairstep parallelism; that is, the a line is repeated and then completed in b. The function of such parallelism is to catch the listener or reader’s attention with an incomplete statement, which is then completed in the second line. The purpose is to move the listener or reader to want to see the undeveloped thought brought to completion.

The psalm begins with an urgent plea to God to act: he is called God of vengeance, that is, a God who takes vengeance on his enemies, the enemies of Israel, by punishing them (see “vengeance” in 18.47). In many languages the expression God of vengeance will carry the meaning of “vengeful vindictiveness.” For this reason it will often be better to follow the example of Good News Translation‘s “God who punishes.” However, in some languages it will be necessary to make explicit the ones who receive this punishment. In the present context it refers to those in power who oppress others.

Good News Translation “reveal your anger” translates the causative form of the verb “to shine”: “cause to shine forth” (see 50.2; 80.1). In the context this “shining forth” is the manifestation of God’s anger, or at least his justice, his determination to avenge. New Jerusalem Bible translates “appear,” which is better, in English at least, than “show yourself” (New American Bible; also New English Bible); Bible en français courant has “manifest yourself.” The verb in Hebrew is in the perfect tense, not the imperative; The Greek translations of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, and Jerome and the Syriac, have the imperative; some believe the Masoretic form is simply a scribal error and that the imperative form is intended; see 80.1. New English Bible is the only translation to change the Hebrew text to justify using the imperative (see L. H. Brockington, The Hebrew Text of the Old Testament, page 146). Because both lines of verse 1 are closely synonymous, some translations such as Biblia Dios Habla Hoy reduce them to a single line, “Show yourself, Lord, God of vengeances.” (The Spanish keeps the plural form, as in Hebrew.)

In verse 2 God as judge of the earth is asked to stand up and pass sentence on the proud and punish them as they deserve (see similar expression in 28.4d). The proud are people who disregard God (see verse 7). Rise up means “Take action” (see 3.7; 9.19). In languages in which Rise up from a lying and sitting position are different, the expression as used here probably means that the psalmist is asking God to stand up (from his throne) and pronounce his verdict. The proud is often rendered by means of idiomatic expressions; for example, “give to people with swollen hearts the things they should get.” Their deserts means “what they deserve” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version); New English Bible has “punish the proud as they deserve.”

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 .