The psalm closes with a triumphant note, a statement of God’s constant love for King David and his descendants forever (as also 7.16).

In this final verse the writer once again shifts pronoun references to third person. In those languages where translators are seeking to be consistent, it may be necessary to make some adjustments at this point.

Great triumphs he gives: the first part of the verse will, of course, have to be restructured in many languages to ensure that the verb gives comes before its object, Great triumphs. The verb in the Masoretic Text is literally “cause to be great.” Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation are both translations of this text, which should be followed in other languages also. However, other interpretations are possible. With a slight change of spelling, the verb may be read as the noun “a tower,” and this is the basis for the translation in New Revised Standard Version, “He is a tower of salvation for his king” (also New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The margin of the Masoretic Text suggests that the verb “cause to be great” should read “Migdol,” but this word occurs elsewhere in the Old Testament only as the name of a city in Lower Egypt (for example, Exo 14.2; Num 33.7), so the intended meaning is not clear.

Triumphs translates the plural of the Hebrew word for “salvation.” Here it refers to the king’s victories over his enemies, which he achieves because God himself is with him and enables him to win.

To his king should not be rendered in such a manner as to be understood as “the king who is over God” but rather as “the king whom God has appointed.”

For steadfast love see the comments on 2.6; 7.15; 15.20; for his anointed see the comments on 1 Sam 2.10; 12.3, 5.

To David: since this is a psalm of David, it may seem rather unusual for him to refer to himself by his own name instead of using a pronoun. In some languages it may be necessary to say “to me and to my descendants….”

The word descendants translates a collective noun, “seed.” Here it refers to David’s male descendants, those who will follow him as kings of Israel. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates “his offspring,” but New Jerusalem Bible is probably better, with “his heirs.” Best of all, however, is Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, which says “to David and his dynasty, for ever.”

Since this verse contains parallelism, lines a and b probably should be understood as referring to the same thing. That is, God’s showing of his steadfast love is illustrated concretely by the fact that he has given David military victories over his enemies. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente provides a good model for this understanding:

• He has given a great victory to the king:
this is his love for the man whom he has chosen,
for David and his descendants, for ever.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .