In verse 6, bearing the seed for sowing, it is uncertain what the Hebrew word translated the seed means; most take it to mean a leather bag in which the seed was carried (so New Jerusalem Bible “carrying the seed-bag”; Dahood “seed pouch”; similarly Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Others, like Revised Standard Version, have the seed for sowing, but this seems less likely (see Anderson). Given the uncertainty of meaning of the specific term, Good News Translation has expressed the essential meaning of the Hebrew by having “carrying the seed,” which means, of course, in order to plant the seed. Care should be taken in this verse not to lead the reader to think that the going out to sow and the returning home with the harvest happened on the same day. The time of sowing was in late winter, and harvest began in mid-April. In languages in which there is no generic term for seed, it will be necessary to specify the kind of seed, such as corn. Good News Translation has avoided the picture of sheaves of grain by substituting “bring in the harvest,” which many other languages can do. If this is not possible, the translator will have to specify the nature of the harvest according to the seed.

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 .