The psalm begins with the people reminding Yahweh of how in the past he had once changed from his anger toward them, had forgiven their sins, and had made them prosperous again. The most common interpretation is that this refers to the return of the Israelites from the Babylonian captivity; God’s anger toward them had ceased and he had saved them. Some think the reference is to the exodus from Egypt, but this seems unlikely. It is impossible to determine for sure what the present distress is; Dahood thinks the whole setting of the psalm is a devastating drought from which the people are suffering and on account of which they pray for rain. In Hebrew there is a play on the sound of the words favorable and land in line a, and restore and fortunes in line b.

The verbs in these verses are understood by most commentators as equivalent to past-time actions (either perfects or simple pasts); New Jerusalem Bible translates as futures; Bible de Jérusalem and New Jerusalem Bible translate by the present tense; Dahood takes them as imperatives. According to the interpretation favored here, the simple past tense (Revised Standard Version, New International Version) is the most suitable one; the perfect tense (New English Bible, Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New American Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) makes the shift to the imperative verb in verse 4 difficult, for the perfect tense implies that the effects of the past actions still continue in the present. Why, then, the plea for the LORD to change? Good News Translation attempts to meet this problem by using the perfect in verses 1-2 and the past in verse 3, but it may be better to use the simple past tense in all three verses, or else the past perfect (pluperfect), as follows: “LORD, you had been merciful … you had made … You had forgiven … You had stopped … and had held back….” Then the change in verse 4 is natural and understandable.

The verb translated wast favorable is used in 44.3, “didst delight”; see comments. Thy land in verse 1a is parallel with Jacob in verse 1b; together they refer to the land and the people of Israel. In some languages it is not natural to speak of being merciful to an inanimate object such as land, and in such cases it may be necessary to say “you have been merciful to the people of your land,” or idiomatically, “you have had a warm heart for the people who live in your land.” The phrase restore the fortunes is the same as the one in 14.7; 53.6. But one form of the Hebrew text (the qere) yields the meaning “you brought back the Israelite captives” (so Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Restore the fortunes may sometimes be rendered “you have given Israel back its wealth” or “you have made Israel rich (or, prosperous) again.”

In verse 2a forgive translates the verb “lift away, remove,” and in verse 2b pardon translates the verb “cover” (see 32.1b and comments). The two nouns iniquity and sin are the same two used in 51.2.

For Selah see 3.2.

The two lines of verse 3 are parallel and synonymous; at one time God had “stopped being angry” (Good News Translation) with his people, that is, he had quit punishing them for their sins, and so they had had a change in their condition.

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 .

In verse 22 outwit translates a word whose form and meaning are disputed. The Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (BDB) derives it from the verb nashaʾ [I], “to be a creditor”; McCullough and others relate it to nashaʾ [II], “to deceive” (so Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch outwit; New American Bible “deceive”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and Bible en français courant “take by surprise”). K-B derives it from a verb meaning “treat badly, oppress” (New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version); New English Bible “strike at” (similarly Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). The best thing to do is use a word that gives the general idea of “oppress” or “conquer.” Good News Translation‘s “succeed against him” is somewhat elliptical and difficult to translate, as it does not make clear what they will not succeed in doing against him. If the translator follows Good News Translation, it may be necessary to say, for example, “his enemies will not succeed in their battles against him.”

In verse 22b the wicked translates a Hebrew idiom, “son of wickedness.” The verb (not) humble means (not) to inflict a shameful defeat on him. Here there is no particular poetic movement between lines a and b. Both say very much the same thing. It is in such cases as this that translators may want to reduce the two lines to one by saying, for example, “His enemies who are wicked people will not be able to defeat him.”

God promises to defeat David’s enemies and destroy them completely (verse 23). The word translated crush is a process in which pressure is brought to bear on two sides of an object. However, in this context the sense of this action is in its results. The thing is crushed, destroyed, collapsed, broken to pieces. When the object is animate, crushing refers to disabling or to destruction. The sense here is to destroy, do away with. In some languages verse 23a may be rendered “While he is watching I will wipe out his enemies” or “… do away with his enemies.” In some languages this expression may best be handled as a simile, “I will crush his enemies as a person smashes an egg.” In verse 23 before him has not been included by Good News Translation; something like the following can be done: “In his presence (or, As he looks on) I will destroy his foes.” In line b strike down translates a verb that is used only here in the Psalms in this sense; see its use in 91.12b “strike (your foot).”

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 .

Turning from Yahweh’s goodness to him personally, the psalmist now describes the qualities of Yahweh as revealed in his relation to the people of Israel. First there is the manifestation of his righteousness and justice toward the oppressed. In verse 6 the psalmist uses the plural of tsedeq and mishpat (see 4.1; 7.6), perhaps to stress the various deeds of the LORD in favor of his people. New Jerusalem Bible translates “executes righteous acts and judgments,” and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translates the verse “The LORD accomplishes deeds of justice, he does what is right to all who are exploited.” But it is not necessary to use a plural in translation; see Revised Standard Version and Dahood, vindication and justice. All who are oppressed is sometimes rendered as “those who have no rights,” “people who have no power,” or “those who have no one to defend them.”

The righteousness of Yahweh is manifest also in his relation to the people of Israel (verse 7), who saw “his mighty deeds,” primarily the great acts of salvation (verse 7b). The ways which he revealed to Moses (verse 7a) were his will, his purpose, his plans, for the people of Israel. He made known his ways to Moses may be recast to say, for example, “he showed Moses what he planned to do.”

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 .

For the opening words Praise the LORD, see 104.35; several Hebrew manuscripts and the Syriac omit them. Steadfast love translates chesed (see 5.7). His steadfast love endures must often be recast to say “he loves people forever.”

By means of the form of a question (verse 2), the psalmist declares that human words cannot describe “the great things” that Yahweh has done for his people, and no one can offer him all the praise he deserves. As is often the case, the question is rhetorical; it does not ask for information but is a way of making an emphatic statement. Rhetorical questions, their structure and use, vary considerably from language to language. The purpose of these questions in this verse is to make a negative emphatic statement. Accordingly, if the question form is retained, in some languages it is necessary to give a negative reply such as “No one!” In languages where this kind of rhetorical question is not used, it will be better to recast these as negative statements; for example, “No one can tell all the great things God has done; no one can praise him enough!”

In verse 3 the psalmist praises those who always obey Yahweh’s law; in line a the word is mishpat (see 7.6), literally “guard justice,” and in line b it is tsedaqah (see 4.1), literally do righteousness. The two are parallel and used synonymously. Instead of Good News Translation “his commands” in line a, a translation may prefer to say “Happy are those who act justly” (New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible).

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 .

Verse 5 is exactly like 57.11.

For verse 6 see 60.5. In 6b Revised Standard Version give help translates the same Hebrew verb translated “give victory” in 60.5. The Masoretic text at the end of verse 6b is answer me; in 60.5 it is “answer us.” It should be noticed that one form of the Hebrew text here has the reading “answer us.”

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 .

Verses 5-6 are a rhetorical question, Who is like…? (Revised Standard Version), which Good News Translation represents in the form of a statement, “There is no one like….” If the translator chooses to use rhetorical questions (as Revised Standard Version does), it should be kept in mind that who … who in verses 5b, 6a are relative pronouns and are not the same as the interrogative pronoun in verse 5a. The expression the LORD our God must often be recast to say “the LORD, who is the God we worship.” In verse 5b “lives” translates the verb “to sit” (see Revised Standard Version); here perhaps the better translation is “he is enthroned” or “he reigns” (see New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, Dahood).

In an unusual figure the psalmist declares in verse 6 that Yahweh is so high above all creation that he must bend down in order to see the heavens and the earth. This not only locates his dwelling as being in the heights above, but emphasizes his care for the universe (verses 7-9 give specific examples of his mercy and help); see also 138.6 for similar language. The verb in line a is better translated “bends down” or “stoops down” (see New Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Good News Translation, New International Version) than Revised Standard Version looks far down. Dahood, however, translates in verse 6 “stoops to look from heaven to earth,” that is, locating Yahweh in heaven, not above the heavens. It seems better to follow Good News Translation.

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 .