The psalmist closes his psalm with a promise to offer to God the sacrifice he had promised, his thanksgiving offerings (verse 12), in gratitude for having been kept safe. Line a of verse 12 is literally “Upon me, God, (are) your vows”–that is, the psalmist feels the obligation to fulfill the vows he had made to God. See New Jerusalem Bible “I must pay my vows to You, O God.” In some languages verse 12a may have to be rendered as “I will give you a sacrifice as payment for what I promised to do.” Render thank offerings may sometimes be translated “to give sacrifices which show thanks to God.”
God had delivered him (literally his nefesh; see 3.2) from death (verse 13a); he had kept his feet from falling. Some take this second line to be a marginal gloss (like the one in verse 8c; see New English Bible): “Shouldn’t this be ‘my feet from falling’?”–which was later made part of the text. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project also admits this possibility; instead of being part of the text, it was a marginal note, “is it not: ‘my feet from stumbling’?” Again, it is better to stay with the Hebrew text as generally understood and translated.
As a result of what God has done, the psalmist’s life is spent “in the presence of God,” that is, in the complete assurance of God’s power and protection, which is further explained as the light of life. This last expression could be understood to mean “in the life-giving light” or, as Good News Translation has it, “the light that shines on the living.” Probably the former is preferable. Most translate the phrase quite literally; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “while you also let me see the light.” It is possible that the original immediate references of “the presence of God” and the light of life were the Temple or the land of Israel as a whole, where God resided and where his light shone on his people.
The expression that I may walk before God, if translated literally, may often have the meaning of “walking in front of God.” In order to avoid this misunderstanding it will sometimes be necessary to say “I am protected by God” or “I know that God is near me and defends me.” Line c can sometimes be rendered, for example, “I am in the light which God causes to shine on the people” or, following the alternative interpretation, “the light which gives life to people.”
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 .