In the opening strophe (letter alef, verses 1-8) the psalmist praises the law of Yahweh as the sure way to happiness, and pledges himself to obey it faithfully.
The psalm opens, as does Psalm 1, praising those whose way is blameless. For Blessed see 1.1. Way in line a is used synonymously with walk in in line b (see “walk” in 78.10); both mean conduct, behavior, manner of life. The word blameless (or “faultless”) indicates total conformity with the requirements of the Torah, which is the complete and perfect expression of the will of God. The Hebrew word for law, torah, is derived from the verb “to teach,” so Torah is to be thought of in terms of “teaching” or “instruction” (see 78.1, where the same word is translated “teaching”); New Jerusalem Bible “the teaching of the LORD.” Yahweh’s “teaching,” of course, has the full force of command. Whose way is blameless or Good News Translation‘s “whose lives are faultless” must often be recast in other languages to make explicit either the words of blame or the people who express the blame; for example, “Happy are the people against whom no bad words are spoken,” or sometimes idiomatically, “How fortunate are people when no one puts their tongues against them.” Law of the LORD must often be expressed as a clause; for example, “who live the way the LORD has commanded them.”
In verse 2a keep means to protect, to guard (see 12.7b); but “to keep God’s law” means to obey it, follow it, practice it (see 78.7).
To seek Yahweh means to ask for his guidance, his instructions, and so to obey him (see comments on 9.10; 14.2). It may be necessary in some languages to reduce verse 2 to one line by saying “Happy are the people who obey with all their heart what God commands them to do.”
In verse 3b the LORD’s ways signifies Yahweh’s will for his people; those who walk in them are living as Yahweh wants them to live (see 81.13). Who also do no wrong must often be translated in other languages as “who do nothing evil” or “who do not do bad things.”
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 .