The psalm begins with a plea to Yahweh to Remember … all the hardships he (David) endured (verse 1), and also the promise that David had made (verse 2). The verb Remember is a way not simply of asking Yahweh to keep something in mind, but for him to take the necessary action in light of what he is to remember. Revised Standard Version (Remember …) in David’s favor is a possible translation of the Hebrew (so An American Translation “for David’s sake”; New Jerusalem Bible “count in David’s favor”). Most translate as does Good News Translation (see Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, New International Version, New English Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). The word translated hardships can be taken in the sense of “difficulties, troubles”; they are those David endured in his attempt to return the Covenant Box to Jerusalem and to build a temple for Yahweh where the Box would be kept. Good News Translation has restructured verses 1 and 2 by beginning verse 1 with “do not forget,” and verse 2 with “Remember.” In Hebrew, as in Revised Standard Version, verse 2 does not repeat the command to remember but leaves it implied from verse 1. Translators in many languages will make the relation between verses 1 and 2 clearer by following the model of Good News Translation. In languages in which a command to remember something or to not forget something would imply that God is something less than intelligent, it may be necessary to say, for example, “LORD, do not set aside (from your mind),” “Do not ignore,” or idiomatically sometimes, “Do not take out of your heart” or “Do not turn your back on.”

Verse 2 is composed of two lines which are synonymous and parallel. Good News Translation in verse 2 uses the second person of address to God to prepare for the direct quotation in verse 3. The translator should note that verses 2, 4, and 5 consist of two lines each, the second line being semantically parallel to the first line. However, there is little if any intensification in the second line. Such poetic lines are sometimes referred to as static parallelism, and if the apparent repetition is not stylistically acceptable in the receptor language, it may be necessary to reduce the two lines to one, as Good News Translation has done in verses 3 and 4.

The title the Mighty One of Jacob is an ancient one (see its use in Gen 49.24); Jacob here may be the patriarch himself or the people of Israel (see 46.7 and comments). The word translated Mighty is used of angels in the Hebrew of 78.25. In this context swore and vowed are used as exact synonyms: “promised … pledged.” If it should be necessary to reduce the two lines to one, the translator may say, for example, “LORD, remember what David promised to you, who are the Mighty God of Jacob” or “… the Mighty God whom Jacob worshiped.”

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 .