Prosperity is further promised for the person who lends generously and is honest in his business affairs (verse 5). Verse 5 begins with “Good (or, Well) man,” which may be taken to mean “The good man” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Dahood) or It is well with the man who (Revised Standard Version; similarly New Jerusalem Bible; Good News Translation “Happy is the person”; Zürcher Bibel “Fortunate the man”), or “it is right for a man” (New English Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Good News Translation‘s “who is generous with his loans” must be readjusted in some languages to say, for example, “who is generous and lends his money to other people.” The word “honestly” in Good News Translation translates “with mishpat” (Revised Standard Version with justice; see 7.6).

For verse 6a see similar language in 15.5c, in a similar context. The righteous, as elsewhere, means primarily one who faithfully obeys God’s commands as found in the Law of Moses. So something like “A person who obeys God’s laws” will be better than Good News Translation‘s “A good person.” Never be moved in this context means never fail in his personal and business dealings. The expression he will be remembered for ever means that the family and friends of the good man will remember him, and in languages which do not use the passive, it may be said “people will always remember him” or “people will never forget him.”

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 .