The psalmist describes how the enemy had completely destroyed the Temple and desecrated it. In verse 4a roared refers to the shouts of victory (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “they sing victory”).

Good News Translation‘s “shouted in triumph” may have to be recast in some languages to provide a reason-result clause relationship; for example, “Your enemies shouted in your Temple to show they had triumphed” or, using direct discourse, “Your enemies shouted in your Temple, ‘We have conquered you.’ ”

Thy holy place translates the Hebrew “your meeting place” (so New Jerusalem Bible), that is, the place where Yahweh met with his people (see Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “the very place where you met us”); the same word is used in verse 8b.

Verse 4b in Hebrew is “they placed their signs (for) signs”; although not clear, it seems that this means that the enemy had placed emblems, either religious symbols or military banners, in the Temple. New American Bible has “tokens of victory”; Good News Translation is like New English Bible “they planted their standards there as tokens of victory.” Bible de Jérusalem and New Jerusalem Bible follow the ancient versions to get “they fixed their emblems over the entrance,” and connect the second “signs” with what follows, “emblems [5] never known before.” It is better, however, to follow Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, and Good News Translation in their translation of the Masoretic text. In Psalm 20.5 “set up our banners” was translated by Good News Translation as “praising our God,” where the meaning is metaphorical. Here, however, the reference is to the objects that were raised in the Temple. In languages where flags or military standards are unfamiliar, it is possible to say, for example, “they have placed their signs of victory here” or “they have put up the signs that show they have defeated us.”

Verse 5 is very obscure in the Masoretic text; translators may decide for themselves how to render it, but Revised Standard Version is not the best model to follow. Weiser does not translate verses 5-6, and those who do translate them differ widely in their rendering of the text. The Masoretic text seems to say “It looked as if (or, It [or, They] became known as) someone raised high in the undergrowth an ax.” Or else, as Traduction œcuménique de la Bible renders line a, “It was known as uw bringing in on highuw*”; the underlined phrase is translated by Revised Standard Version (following An American Translation) At the upper entrance; no one else does this. The most common emendation is to read “They will be cut off” instead of the Masoretic text “They will be known”; with this emendation, and a change in order of the words, New English Bible gets “They brought it crashing down, like woodmen plying their axes in the forest.” Good News Translation has taken the Masoretic text verb “It is (or, They are) known” in the sense of “It (or, They) looked like”; similarly New American Bible: “They are like men coming up with axes to a clump of trees” (see Briggs); New Jerusalem Bible has “It is like men wielding axes against a gnarled tree.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (“C” decision) says the text may be interpreted in two ways: (1) “it looked (as if) someone swung the axes high”; (2) “it looked (as if) someone brought axes up.” If the translator follows Good News Translation‘s “like woodsmen,” in some languages it will be necessary to say simply “They looked like men in the forest cutting down trees with their axes.”

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 .