The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces: these ten English words translate three Hebrew words. The Hebrew text is literally “Yahweh, they shall be broken into pieces, his adversaries.” Translators are not agreed on how to connect the name Yahweh (the LORD) to the words that follow. Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation seem to preserve the general sense, but perhaps New Revised Standard Version captures more precisely the central focus on God: “The LORD! His adversaries shall be shattered.” New Jerusalem Bible is similar: “Yahweh, his enemies are shattered.” In languages where the passive verb form is not an option, the sentence will have to be restructured to make Yahweh the subject of the verb. One possible model is “The LORD destroys his enemies” (New Century Version).
Against them: there is some question about the meaning of the Hebrew word rendered against them. Two interpretations are possible: (1) The Hebrew word consists of a preposition (against) and the third person singular masculine suffix (“him”). Those translations (such as Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) that follow this interpretation usually translate this singular pronoun with a plural meaning (them), according to the sense of the passage. (2) According to the second interpretation the Hebrew word is an ancient divine name that should be translated “the Most High.” This second interpretation is followed by New Revised Standard Version: “the Most High will thunder in heaven” (so also New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends the first interpretation as the most likely.
The ends of the earth: a literal translation may suggest incorrectly that it is only the ends of the earth that God will judge. In the Old Testament “the ends of the earth” stands for “the extremities of the earth,” that is, as far as one can go (see Deut 33.17). God’s judgment includes everyone from one end of the earth to the other end. Revised English Bible accurately expresses the sense: “even to the ends of the earth.” However, the most natural rendering may be simply “the whole world” (Good News Translation) or “all the earth” (New Century Version).
His king … his anointed: these nouns are parallel and synonymous in their reference; his king is his anointed. For this reason it may be inappropriate to join these two parts of the verse with the conjunction and as Revised Standard Version does. In many languages no connecting word at all will be needed. And in other cases the two will be joined by “that is to say….” Anointing consisted of pouring oil or rubbing ointment on a person’s head; it symbolized the coming of God’s spirit on the person who was considered to have been chosen by God. Throughout the Old Testament kings are often called “God’s anointed” (for example, 24.6, 10; 26.9, 11, 16, 23; 2 Sam 1.14, 16). The expression “the LORD’s anointed” is used more than ten times in the books of Samuel to refer to different kings of Israel. Some languages may have to translate it “the person chosen by the LORD to be the king of his people.”
The power is literally “horn” (see the comment on verse 1). To “exalt the horn” is to “raise up the power” or “to give power to.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .