Verse 30 is difficult to understand, and the last two lines are incomprehensible in Hebrew; commentators and translators are widely divided in their understanding of the verse.

In line a the Hebrew phrase “the beasts of the reeds” is taken by most commentators to be a reference to the hippopotamus, a symbol of Egypt (see similar language in Ezek 29.3). So New Jerusalem Bible “The Beast of the Reeds.”

Line b is literally “the groups of bulls with the calves (of) the people,” which Good News Translation has taken as a symbol of other nations; some, however, take this to be parallel with line a, as a reference to Egypt. So Bible en français courant, “Hurl your threats at Egypt, that beast of the reeds, that herd of bulls, that lord of peoples….” Revised Standard Version does not make sense in English. “Bulls with their calves” is probably a symbol of more powerful nations (“bulls”) accompanied by weaker, dependent nations (“calves”). Dahood takes the last word of the line, “peoples,” to go with the following line, thus translating, “who trampled on peoples in his lust for silver,” which makes good sense. If the translator follows the lead given by Good News Translation, it will often be necessary to make the comparison more explicit than in Good News Translation; for example, “rebuke Egypt which is like a wild animal…” or “rebuke the nations which are like a herd of bulls with their calves.”

There are various translations for the third line, as it stands in the Masoretic text; Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have two of them. Anderson thinks Revised Standard Version tribute is defensible, representing the Hebrew word “silver.” There is much uncertainty over the form and meaning of the first word (Revised Standard Version footnote “trampling”); Briggs takes it to be a form of the verb “to humble oneself,” which Good News Translation has represented by “until they all bow down” (similarly Weiser; New Jerusalem Bible “till they come cringing with pieces of silver”–and see also New American Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible). Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “who in their lust for silver humiliate the peoples.”

By a simple change of vowels in line d, the beginning verb can be read as an imperative: scatter (so nearly all translations and commentaries); Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translates the Masoretic text “he has scattered.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project says that the meaning of the whole passage, verses 28-30 (verses 29-31 in the Masoretic text) is as follows: V.29 your God commanded your strength: strengthen, O God, what you have done for us! V.30 in your palace in Jerusalem: to you the kings bring tribute. V.31 rebuke the beast of the reeds, the assembly of the mighty ones with the bulls of the nations (who) bow down with bars of silver (or: [who] trample each other for bars of silver). He has scattered the peoples (which) delight in wars.

The common noun in the first line of verse 31 appears nowhere else in the Old Testament; it seems to mean bronze objects (so K-B, Revised Standard Version; Dahood “blue cloth”). It seems better to follow the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, “ambassadors, nobles.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project says that the meaning of the Hebrew word is no longer clear, and that the two best attested interpretations are “red stuff” and “the great ones.” If the translator follows Good News Translation, “ambassadors” may sometimes be translated “officials sent by the government” or simply “officials.”

Ethiopia is the traditional translation of the biblical place name “Cush.” But the territory occupied by the modern country of Sudan more nearly corresponds to the territory south of Egypt occupied by “Cush,” and so Good News Translation has used “Sudan” to represent the biblical Cush. New English Bible and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translate here “Nubia.” It is recommended that the word be translated Ethiopia, with a footnote indicating that at that time it was a country on the border of Egypt (see Ezek 29.10).

The verb in verse 31b seems to be the word for “to hurry,” and so the phrase seems to mean literally “Cush is to hurry its hands,” which Hebrew Old Testament Text Project takes to mean “to bring tribute in haste (to God)” (see the same verb in 1 Sam 17.17, “carry … quickly”). But on the basis of Akkadian parallels, the meaning “extend the hands” is possible; this could be “in prayer,” as Good News Translation has, or to present gifts (New Jerusalem Bible). The context favors the latter.

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 .