The enemies are named. They are “of one heart” (Revised Standard Version with one accord) in their plan (verse 5a), that is, “They agree on their plan” to conquer the land of Israel; New Jerusalem Bible “unanimous in their counsel”; New English Bible “With one mind.” They make a covenant, that is, they make a treaty among themselves to act together against Israel, and so their covenant is an alliance against God himself. Many languages use the same idiom as Hebrew in this context, “one heart.” Other languages use such expressions as “one word,” “one mouth,” or “one stomach.” The expression they make a covenant in some languages must include the purpose. In the present context it is to make war against Israel, and therefore against God. Here it is possible to say “with one mouth they agree to attack you.” If “you” would appear to be unclear, then one can say “… attack you, God.” The literal Hebrew expression is “cut a covenant” and is expressed in some languages in the same manner.

Edom was the territory to the south of Israel, occupied by the descendants of Esau (for the tents of Edom see comments on the similar expression “the tents of Ham” in 78.51). Although in Hebrew the expression the tents of … represents the people living in each of the named areas, in translation it will most often be best to speak of “the people of….” The Ishmaelites, who lived on the east side of the Jordan, were descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham by Hagar (see Gen 25.12-18). Moab was the territory on the east side of the lower Jordan. The Hagrites were a nomadic tribe living east of Gilead, on the east side of the Jordan (see 1 Chr 5.10).

Gebal is taken by most commentators to be a region south of the Dead Sea; some think it is the Phoenician city Byblos (see Dahood), but this is disputed. Ammon was on the east side of the Jordan, north of the territory of Moab. Amalek was a nomadic tribe living south of Judah. Philistia was the territory along the Mediterranean coast, west of the territory occupied by the Israelites. And Tyre was a Phoenician city on the Mediterranean, some fifty-five kilometers north of Mount Carmel.

Assyria was the mighty empire in Mesopotamia, in the north; its capital was Nineveh. Some take the Hebrew name here to refer to the Ashurites, a tribe living east of the Jordan (see 2 Sam 2.9); Briggs emends to “Samaria,” but this is not necessary. The children of Lot are the descendants of Moab and Benammi, the sons of Lot (see Gen 19.36-38), that is, “the Ammonites and Moabites” (already referred to in verses 6, 7). Good News Translation has inserted their names to make this information explicit. The Hebrew strong arm means “strong ally,” “strong supporter.”

Translators who are transliterating any of these names for the first time must be careful to ensure that no undesired meaning is created, for example, due to identity or similarity to a word in the receptor language. Translators should make certain that adequate maps are printed to enable the reader to know the location of these places.

For Selah see 3.2.

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 .