These two verses give the reason for the festival: it was commanded by God. In verses 4a-b, 5a three synonymous terms are used for this command: statute (see “decree” and comments at 2.7), ordinance (see “judgment” and comments at 7.6), and decree (see “testimony” and comments at 19.7). Good News Translation‘s “This” points back to the content of the first three verses. In some languages it will be necessary to make explicit the relation of verse 4 to verses 1-3; for example, “Do all this because it is the law of Israel” or “The law of Israel requires that you do this.”
In verse 5a Good News Translation “the people of Israel” stands for Joseph; this may be used in the more restricted sense of the northern kingdom, but more likely it is a synonym for Israel in verse 4a (see discussion at 80.1).
In verse 5b Good News Translation “when he attacked” translates the Hebrew “in his going out upon (or, over).” Thus understood, the subject is God and the phrase alludes to his punishing Egypt with the plagues. But the preposition translated “over” (or, “against”; see Revised Standard Version footnote) may also mean “from” (see Anderson, Dahood); in this case the subject is “the people of Israel” (that is, Joseph) in verse 5a and refers to the exodus (so the Septuagint; Jerome, Dahood, New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Briggs, Oesterley and New American Bible follow the Septuagint). Either of the two is possible; the more usual meaning of the Masoretic text would be “over” in the sense of “against” (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, An American Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, New International Version, Kirkpatrick, Weiser, McCullough, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project).
Most modern commentators and translators take verse 5c as the introduction of God’s message that follows in verses 6-16. But the meaning in the context is not very clear, and some take it as a marginal note in which the copyist indicated that he did not understand the meaning of the text. Most take it to be the words of the psalmist himself, or else of a priest or a prophet who is delivering God’s message. Dahood, however, takes it to be God speaking: “I heard the speech of one unknown to me”–a reference to the people of Israel in Egypt, who were “unknown” to God before he chose them. New English Bible omits the line as a later gloss. The Septuagint translates “he (Joseph, that is, the people of Israel) heard a language he did not understand”; this is the sense given by New International Version, but without a textual footnote. It is best to take it as referring to the psalmist himself. In many languages it is unnatural to “hear a voice.” One must in such cases say, for example, “I hear someone I do not know saying.”
The burden and the basket (verse 6) are metaphors for the tasks of the people of Israel in Egypt, where they were forced to work as slaves; Good News Translation takes the basket to refer to “loads of bricks” (see Exo 1.11-14; 5.6-9). The Hebrew text has “his back” and “his hands” (see Revised Standard Version footnote), which Good News Translation has represented by “your backs” and “your loads of bricks,” in order to make clear that the reference is to the people of Israel, not to the psalmist (as Revised Standard Version might be taken to mean). It is not necessary to specify the content of the baskets as Good News Translation has done. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy recasts this as “hard labor.” This verse may also be rendered “I have taken the loads off your backs and freed you from hard labor.”
God’s act of salvation (verse 7a) was to take his people out of Egypt. He is the God whose shelter is a storm (verse 7b; see 18.11-14; 77.17-18; Exo 20.18-20); Bible en français courant translates “from the heart of the storm,” New International Version “out of a thundercloud.” Revised Standard Version in the secret place of thunder should not be taken to mean that the Israelites were also there. God put his people to the test at Meribah, where there was no water for them to drink (see Exo 17.1-7; Num 20.2-13; Psa 95.8-9).
In some languages it will not be clear to say I answered you when no question had been asked. I answered you is synonymous with I delivered you in the previous line and may therefore be translated “I helped you” or “I rescued you.”
For Selah see 3.2.
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 .