Revised Standard Version has verse 32 as an added comment on God, following the rhetorical question of verse 31. It is probably better to follow Good News Translation and start a new sentence in verse 32.
Revised Standard Version uses the past tense of the verbs in verses 32-33, thereby referring to a specific event in the past. Good News Translation and many other translations use the present tense, indicating habitual action on the part of God. This seems preferable.
The phrase girded me with strength means to make strong (see also verse 39). In some languages it will be necessary to restructure the God who to say “God is the one who makes me strong,” otherwise the meaning may be taken as “he is one of the gods.” In languages where strength is more apt to be taken as sexual virility, it is possible to say “who makes me able to do great things.”
The verbal phrase made … safe in verse 32b is in Hebrew “gave perfection” (see the word “blameless” in verse 23). In this context some take this to mean faultless conduct; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “makes my behavior faultless”; New English Bible “makes my way blameless”; also possible is “kept my actions faultless.” This, however, does not fit the context as well as the meaning of providing security. If the translator takes the Hebrew for “my way” in line b to refer to conduct, this line may sometimes be rendered “he makes my life straight.” If this line is taken as in Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version, referring to safe travel, it may be necessary to make explicit the purpose; for example, “he makes my road safe for me to walk on.”
In verse 33 the idea of feet like hinds’ feet (that is, those of a deer) may mean swiftness (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, New American Bible) or sure-footedness (Kirkpatrick: “agility, swiftness, and sure-footedness”).
Secure on the heights can mean victorious in battle (so Briggs) or, continuing the previous idea, to be secure even when on high, dangerous places (so Anderson); or else, to be in high places where one is safe from one’s enemies. Where it is possible to maintain the simile, this should be done. However, the translator must make certain that the animal is associated with speed and sure-footedness. If no such animal is known for these characteristics, then it will be best to avoid the simile; for example, “he makes my legs able to run fast.” Where heights are unknown one must use the term for hill and qualify it by “the highest.”
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 .