In this verse the world’s inhabitants are described as those who dwell at earth’s farthest bounds. This phrase is inclusive, not exclusive; that is, it means all people of the world, including those who live in the most distant parts of the earth.

Good News Translation‘s “stands in awe” is often rendered in many languages by idiomatic phrases; for example, “the heart jumps” or “the stomach trembles.”

The signs are the great deeds, or miracles, that God performed (this is parallel to “dread deeds” in verse 5a).

In line c the psalmist uses the phrase the outgoings of the morning and the evening as a way of speaking of the east and the west, the limits of the earth; so Good News Translation “from one end of the earth to the other.” New Jerusalem Bible has “the lands of sunrise and sunset”; New Jerusalem Bible “the gateways of morning and evening”; another possible version is “farthest east and farthest west.” The translation of east and west representing the full extent of the earth is expressed variously in different languages, and the form should be the one most natural in the language. In some languages the extremes of distance are expressed in terms of the prevailing winds, in others according to the flow of the river, and in others by the rising and setting of the sun. For instance, in some languages one must speak of “from the mouth of the river to the source of the river,” “from the east wind to the west wind,” or simply “from upstream to downstream.” In some languages this may be rendered, for example, “Because of the great things you do, all the people who live from upstream to downstream shout for joy.” It is, of course, people who live in those faraway places who shout for joy, not the places themselves.

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 .