The psalm opens with praise to God. The verb “praise, give thanks” (see comments at 7.17a) is repeated in line a for emphasis. In languages where the repetition of we give thanks will reduce the emphasis, an appropriate emphasizer should be used; for example, “Indeed, we thank you, God.”

The second line of this verse in the Masoretic text is “near is your name they tell your wonderful deeds.” New Jerusalem Bible translates “Your presence is near; men tell of Your wondrous deeds”; similarly Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New International Version, and New English Bible. Dahood takes the word “near” to be a title for God, “the Near One.” Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, and New American Bible (also Hebrew Old Testament Text Project) prefer the meaning found in the Septuagint, Syriac and Vulgate. It should be noticed that Syriac and Vulgate have the plural, “we tell of”; the Septuagint, however, has here the singular, “I will tell of.” The statement call on thy name can mean to ask for God’s help; here, however, it seems better to take it as an exclamation of praise, “We proclaim how great you are”; Bible en français courant has “we proclaim who you are.” For name see comments on 5.11. For thy wondrous deeds see comments on 9.17.

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 .