As shown by the difference between Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, there is no agreement whether the verbs in verse 1 are to be understood as present, I cry … he may answer, or as past “I called … he answered.” Like Good News Translation are Dahood, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New English Bible, New American Bible; like Revised Standard Version are An American Translation, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy; but these, unlike Revised Standard Version that he may answer, have “and he answers.” There is no way of being dogmatic, but it seems that the verbs should be taken as past tense (see Weiser, Anderson, Taylor, Kirkpatrick). Cry means to call for help, and answer implies that Yahweh will help. In some languages it will be necessary to make clear the purpose of calling to the LORD; for example, “I called to the LORD for help” or “I asked the LORD to help me.” “He answered me” may be taken to mean that he replied to my question. If this is the case, it is better to say “and he helped me” or “and he answered me by helping me.”

Revised Standard Version places verse 2 in quotation marks, thus making it the prayer that the psalmist refers to in verse 1; New English Bible does the same, and this is probably correct. The words of the psalmist’s prayer are inserted in an unusual way. In languages in which verse 2 may not fit well, it may be necessary to make clear that these are the words which the psalmist uses to ask God for help in verse 1. Accordingly it may be necessary to say, for example, “I prayed saying this…” or “I said to the LORD.” In some languages quotation marks will be sufficient. Deliver me represents the Hebrew “save my nefesh” (see 3.2). For the verb see 7.1. The psalmist’s prayer is that Yahweh save him from lying lips, from a deceiving tongue (see similar language in 52.3-4), by which the psalmist means his enemies, who tell lies about him. See Bible en français courant “people who lie and take false oaths.” It is uncertain who these enemies are, but probably they are fellow Israelites, not Gentiles. Lying lips and deceitful tongue represent the entire person or persons, which Good News Translation correctly renders as “liars” and “deceivers.”

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 .