This verse is taken by Bible de Jérusalem, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, and Bible en français courant to be part also of the song of the kings; it seems better, however, to take it to be the psalmist’s own words, in which he proclaims that though Yahweh is in heaven, far above everything and everyone (see 113.4-8), still he regards the lowly, that is, he is aware of their needs and provides for them (see 106.44).

The last part of the verse is variously interpreted; most take the haughty to be in contrast with the lowly of the preceding line. New Jerusalem Bible and Dahood, however, take it to be parallel with high, which modifies Yahweh in the preceding line; so New Jerusalem Bible “lofty, He perceives from afar”; Dahood translates the word as a title of Yahweh, “the Lofty.” The second difference is to be found in the translation of the verb, which is normally rendered he knows or something similar (Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Bible en français courant, Dahood). Some take the verb here as the form of a homonym of the Hebrew “to know” that means “to humble, bring down” (see references in Anderson); so “he humbles the proud.” This makes excellent sense but has not been widely adopted by translators; most take the verb to mean “know,” parallel with “see” in the preceding line. The sense would be “but from afar Yahweh knows what the proud are doing” (so Good News Translation “and the proud cannot hide from you”). Many languages, unlike Hebrew and English, will not contrast that which is high with that which is low, meaning humble. Accordingly one must sometimes say, for instance, “even though you are above everything, you care for people who are not proud,” or idiomatically in some languages, “people who do not have swollen hearts.”

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 .