In verses 3-5 various instruments are named which are to be used in this service of praise: trumpet (see 47.5; 98.6); lute and harp, a translation of nebel and kinor (see 33.2, where Revised Standard Version has “lyre” instead of lute); “drums” (Revised Standard Version timbrel; see 149.3). In verse 4b “harps” translates the word strings, which may also be the word used in 45.8 (but nowhere else in the Old Testament). “Flutes” (Revised Standard Version pipe) are wind instruments; see the word in Genesis 4.21; Job 21.12; 30.31.

In verse 5 two kinds of cymbals are mentioned (elsewhere only in 2 Sam 6.5): literally “cymbals of hearing” and “cymbals of shouting,” which may mean small cymbals and large cymbals, or just a poetic variation, “clanging cymbals … clashing cymbals.” There were two types of cymbals: (1) flat metal plates which were struck together, and (2) metal cones, one of which was brought down on top of the other, on the larger end. They were probably made out of bronze.

Taylor and others point out that trumpets were played by priests; harps, lyres, and cymbals by the Levites; and the other instruments (verse 4) by lay people. The translation of the terms for these musical instruments is usually handled in three ways: (a) by means of descriptive phrases; (b) by means of local instruments; and (c) by using generic terms accompanied by a loan word. The first example is illustrated in the case of “cymbal” by (1) above. The third case would be “flat metal plates struck together, called cymbals.” This third case would adversely affect the poetic effect and would be more suitable as a footnote.

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 .