In lines a-b the verb phrase translated makes the LORD his trust is better represented by “trusts the LORD” (see Good News Translation). It is important to use the same word for trust here that is used in verse 3.

In lines c and d the proud and false gods translate the Hebrew “arrogant ones” and “lies”; some commentators (see Anderson) believe that the reference is to pagan gods, as Good News Translation and Dahood translate. Others, however, take it to describe people: New English Bible “brutal and treacherous men”; New Jerusalem Bible “the arrogant … followers of falsehood”; An American Translation “idolaters … lying apostates”; New Jerusalem Bible “rebels and those who have gone astray in falsehood.” No certainty is possible; some have suggested placing “arrogant men” in the margin as an alternative for “false gods” in the text. The parallelism seems to favor the Good News Translation rendering. “Idols” are often rendered “things which people worship” or “gods which are not true gods.” If the term here is to be understood as “arrogant men,” it can sometimes be translated as “men who think they are very important” or, idiomatically, “people who have swollen hearts.” In languages which do not use relative clauses, such as those with who in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, translators may recast verse 4 to say, for example,

• People trusting in the LORD are happy,
they do not turn to idols,
they do not join those who worship false gods.

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 .