In these verses the scene is the Temple (see parallel in 2 Chr 6.41), and Yahweh is invited to enter, both he and the Covenant Box, which is here described as the ark of thy might. In 78.61 the ark is referred to as “his power” and “his glory”; here, as there, Good News Translation has expressed the meaning of the Hebrew by “the symbol of your power”; Bible en français courant has “the place where your power resides.” Good News Translation “and stay here forever” (that is, in the Temple) translates the meaning of the Hebrew thy resting place; see the same word in verse 14. In some languages “stay” or “remain here” will be sufficient. The idea of “resting” is not that of complete cessation of work, as though Yahweh would do nothing else; it is rather the idea of having a permanent place in which to live (see 95.11 and comments). If the translator follows Good News Translation‘s “the symbol of your power,” it may be necessary to recast this expression as “that shows how powerful you are.” Since the psalmist speaks from the Temple, the invitation is expressed in Good News Translation as “Come”; Revised Standard Version has go. However, since the permanent resting place was the innermost room, the Holy of Holies, where only the high priest entered, most priests and Israelites would have to say “go.”

It is not easy to determine precisely what is meant in verse 9a be clothed with righteousness (for righteousness see comments at 4.1). Good News Translation has taken it to mean “do … what is right” (see Cohen, Anderson). Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates “be clothed in kindness,” New Jerusalem Bible “are clothed in triumph.” Thus translated, “righteousness” or “kindness” is seen as a moral quality that is compared to a robe, a “habit” that is worn. Bible en français courant translates “May your priests carry salvation with them in the same way they carry their robes….” The language may be taken to mean the “righteousness” (and, in verse 16, the “salvation”) of Yahweh which the priests mediate to the people (Briggs, Toombs); see Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “Give your priests the authority to secure your help for us.” Weiser takes the word here to mean “salvation,” as in verse 16, and that it refers to the blessing which the priests pronounced on the people. Crim understands the phrase to mean “sacred garments that express God’s righteous dealings with his people.” The expression clothed with righteousness will have to be recast in many languages. If it is desirable to retain the poetic image of clothing, it may be possible to say, for example, “May your priests cover themselves with goodness the way they wear their garments” or “… wear kindness as a person wears a garment.”

In verse 9b saints are the people of Yahweh (see comments on “the godly” in 4.3). Shout for joy must often be translated, for example, “shout because they are happy” or “because they are joyful let them shout.”

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 .