The king is promised God’s protection: the Lord will win victory for him over his enemies. The Lord stands by him, at his right side, to protect him. The day of his wrath in verse 5b further defines He will execute judgment in verse 6a; these refer to the day of the Lord, when he will judge all peoples on earth. The verb translated “defeat” in verse 5b (literally “break in pieces”) is in the perfect tense (see Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New English Bible “has broken”); some translate it as a timeless present (New Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant); it seems better to take it to speak of future action, as the tense is sometimes used (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, New International Version).
This psalm is particularly difficult to hear read and to read in most translations. For example, in Good News Translation verse 1 God tells the king to sit at God’s right hand. In verse 4 it is God (the LORD) who makes a solemn promise (to the king), but in verse 5 it is the Lord (king) who is at “your (God’s) right side.” In verse 5b it is the king who will defeat his enemies, but in verse 1 it is God who will put the king’s enemies under the king’s feet. There are two principal sources which create the confusions which arise in reading this psalm: the use of “Lord” referring to God and to the king, and the change in speakers. In languages in which a single term such as “Lord” is used for both God and the king, it is possible to identify the Lord as being God, and not depend entirely on the use of capitals, as Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version do; for example, “God, who is the Lord, said to my lord the king.” In verse 2a the translator may again say “God, the Lord….” The same may be repeated in verses 4a and 5a. ver1 The Living Biblever1* has “Jehovah said to my Lord the Messiah.” This is a case of reading Matthew back into the psalm and then translating it from Matthew’s perspective. The task of the translator is to translate the text of the Old Testament, not to revise it in the light of the New Testament.
Most traditional and modern versions provide quotes to indicate that God is the speaker of “Sit at my right hand” (verse 1) and “You are a priest for ever…” (verse 4). However, Good News Translation alone makes God the speaker of “Rule over your enemies” (verse 2). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch continues the quote from verse 1b to the end of verse 3. This does not seem to be satisfactory, for the subject in verse 2 is clearly Yahweh, and by including verse 2a in the quote, Yahweh is made to speak of himself in the third person. It is, however, possible to consider verse 3 as a continuation of the quote in verse 2b. In any event the translator should make an effort to make clear the words spoken by God and to identify them as such.
Again it can be helpful for the reader if the translator considers adjusting verse 5a to say, for example, “God, who is the Lord, is at your right side, King,” or in some languages, “God the Lord is close to you, King, to help you.”
Verse 6b translates the Hebrew “he will fill with corpses”; Good News Translation supplies “the battlefield,” while Revised Standard Version has them, referring back to the nations of the preceding line. Instead of the Masoretic text corpses, some ancient versions have “valleys.” New English Bible emends to “majesty.”
In verse 6c he will shatter chiefs translates “he will shatter the head” (see Revised Standard Version footnote), which some take literally (New American Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem; see 68.21); others, like Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New International Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Bible en français courant, take the word as a figure for rulers.
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 .