The psalmist begins with an exhortation to himself to Bless the LORD (see 103.1). In languages in which God cannot be possessed, it is often possible to translate my God as “the God whom I worship.” This is followed by a description of Yahweh’s greatness: honor and majesty (see 96.6; 93.1) are his clothing (verse 1c), the light is his mantle (verse 2a; see 71.13 for the verb “to cover”). Garment (verse 2a) is not meant to be a different piece of clothing from what is implied by the verb clothed in verse 1c; but a word like “robe” or “mantle” would be quite appropriate (New Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible “wrapped in a robe of light”). In some languages it will be possible to translate verses 1c and 2a by means of a simile; for example, “As a person wears clothing, you wear honor and majesty and light.” It may also be possible to translate this difficult figure by saying, for example, “You are surrounded by honor and majesty and wear light as a person wears clothing.” In languages in which honor and majesty cannot be expressed as nouns, it may be necessary to replace the figure by a nonfigure and say, for example, “people honor you and treat you like a chief, you are covered with light” or “… light shines on you.”
The psalmist then compares the creation of the heavens (verse 2b) to a man putting up his tent, literally the curtains or flaps of a tent (a Hebrew word used only here in Psalms). In languages where the tent is not known, it may be possible to use some other local structure, employ a generic term, or use such a term as “roof.”
In verse 3a Good News Translation “home” translates a plural word which means either the upper stories or the rooms on top of the house (see 1 Kgs 17.19; 2 Kgs 1.2; 4.10); “built” translates a verb that means “to build with beams.” Some take the plural to refer to the successive layers of heaven, either three or seven. In any case, they are Yahweh’s heavenly habitation. Revised Standard Version laid the beams of thy chambers is unnecessarily cumbersome and difficult; similarly New Jerusalem Bible “He sets the rafters of His lofts in the waters.” The implication that Yahweh put the beams or the “rafters” in place, and nothing else, is rather ridiculous. The psalmist is saying that Yahweh built his dwelling place like the living quarters on top of a house. New Jerusalem Bible translates “your palace.” “The waters above” (Good News Translation) are the waters above the heavenly firmament, separated at creation from those below (see Gen 1.6-7); simply to translate waters, as Revised Standard Version and New Jerusalem Bible do, is not enough; New International Version “their waters” is even less adequate. Bible en français courant abandons the concept altogether: “You have placed your dwelling place even higher than the sky.”
Translators in Middle Eastern languages will be familiar with rooms built on the flat roofs, and terms for these are available; however, since the reference is to God’s abode, it will be better to follow Good News Translation “home,” or say “palace,” or “the place where you live.”
The natural phenomena, the clouds and the wind, serve as Yahweh’s chariot as he comes to visit the earth (see 18.10; 68.4, 33; Isa 19.1). For translation suggestions on chariot see 20.7. In languages in which the figure of speech wings of the wind does not make sense, it may be necessary to drop the figure and say, for example, “you ride on the wind” or “the wind carries you.”
Yahweh uses the winds and the “lightning” to carry his messages and otherwise perform duties of servants as he rules the world. The Hebrew phrase translated “flashes of lightning” is literally “a flaming fire” (Revised Standard Version fire and flame); this is taken to mean lightning (see New American Bible footnote, Briggs, Cohen). Most translations, however, by saying only “fiery flames” (New Jerusalem Bible), “flames of fire” (New International Version, New English Bible), or “fire” (Bible en français courant), lead the reader to think of fire, not of lightning. For comments on ministers see 103.21.
Verse 4 is quoted in Hebrew 1.7 as it appears in the Septuagint, which takes “angels” and “servants” as the direct objects of the verbs, and “winds” and “flames of fire” as the complements. Some, like Kirkpatrick and Briggs, believe that this is the proper meaning of the Hebrew text itself: “You make your angels winds, and your servants flashes of lightning” (see King James Version). But no modern translation consulted follows this interpretation of the verse. In some languages it will be clearer to avoid the nominal forms in the figures of the wind and lightning, as suggested above, and say, for example, “You use the wind to carry your messages, and the lightning to serve you.”
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 .