The psalmist begins the recital of Israel’s constant acts of rebellion with a confession of national sin; his own generation also is guilty of sin and disobedience, as were their ancestors. The psalmist uses three verbs in verse 6 to describe the depth and extent of the sins of his contemporaries and their ancestors. In such a context the verbs are practically synonymous, serving to reinforce one another and emphasizing how terribly sinful the Israelites had been and were. The first verb is the most common one for “to sin.” The other two appear with this meaning in the Psalms only in this verse. The second verb means, quite generally, “to do wrong,” and the third one, more specifically, “to be (or, become) guilty.” A translator will choose whatever terms are available in the target language that will express wilful and serious acts of sin.

The long record of Israel’s rebellion begins at the exodus from Egypt; while still in Egypt the Israelites failed to understand God’s wonderful acts (see 9.1b), which here refer to the plagues Yahweh inflicted on the Egyptians through Moses and Aaron. The verb translated consider means to pay attention, to reflect upon, to understand.

In verse 7a-b the Hebrew text uses the second-person singular pronoun “your wonderful acts … your love” (see Revised Standard Version); for consistency Good News Translation uses the third person. Thy wonderful works or “God’s wonderful acts” must be recast in many languages to say “the wonderful things God did for us.”

Beginning at verse 7d the psalmist recalls the departure of the Israelites from Egypt (see Exo 14). In verse 7c the Hebrew text is unusual: “they rebelled against the sea at the Sea of Reeds”; instead of the Masoretic text ʿal-yam “against the sea,” some change the Hebrew text to ʿelyon “the Almighty” (see 7.17); so Briggs, Oesterley, McCullough, Anderson; An American Translation, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible. New English Bible changes to ʿaleyhem “in spite of all.” New Jerusalem Bible translates the Masoretic text “at the sea, at the Sea of Reeds”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “near the sea, the sea of Reeds” (similarly New International Version), which is what Hebrew Old Testament Text Project favors. It may be best to stay with the Masoretic text. For this act of rebellion see Exodus 14.12. For translation suggestions on “the Almighty,” see 7.17.

In naming the body of water the Israelites crossed, translators must decide whether to use the Hebrew name, yam suf “Sea of Reeds” or “Reed Sea,” or the name used in the Greek Septuagint and the New Testament, eruthra thalassa Red Sea. Many scholars are sure that two bodies of water are involved. The modern “Red Sea” itself is divided into two branches by the Sinai Peninsula, and these are the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez. The Gulf of Suez is the western branch and is referred to as “Sea of Reeds” in the Hebrew of Exodus 10.19; Numbers 33.10-11; similarly the Gulf of Aqaba is the eastern branch of the Red Sea and is likewise called “Sea of Reeds” in Exodus 23.31; Numbers 14.25; 21.4; Deuteronomy 1.40; 2.1; 1 Kings 9.26; Jeremiah 49.21. It may be appropriate to translate using “Red Sea” at these places, but it is better to use the known name for each respective gulf, whether the Gulf of Aqaba or the Gulf of Suez, for that will identify the body of water for today’s reader (note the respective passages in Good News Translation). However, since there are no reeds growing on the shores of the Red Sea, and because of the geography and the routes to be taken into the wilderness, it seems evident that the name was derived from one of the smaller bodies of water north of the Red Sea. That body has not yet been identified, but some of the lakes there are large enough to have been an obstacle and a danger to the escaping Israelites, and their size would not diminish or belittle the significance of a miracle. To say the crossing took place at the body of water that is today known as the Red Sea is to go against the weight of good biblical scholarship. (See Good News Translation footnote, Exo 13.18.)

There are three alternatives that translators may take in naming the body of water the Israelites crossed: (1) They may follow the example of Martin Luther, who in his German translation called it Schilfmeer, “Reed Sea,” in all Old Testament occurrences, but das rothe Meer, “the Red Sea,” in the two New Testament occurrences (so Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Zürcher Bibel; also New Jerusalem Bible in its translation of the Hebrew Bible; Dahood uses “Sea of Reeds” regularly in the Psalms). This has the advantage of representing the exact differences between the Hebrew and the Greek terms. However, it runs counter to the principle of using the same proper noun in translation for identical people and places that occur in both Testaments, and it does not distinguish between the real bodies of water. (2) They may use “the Red Sea” throughout the Bible (so Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, New American Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). While this uses one proper noun for both Testaments, it too does not distinguish between the actual bodies of water. (3) They may use “Sea of Reeds” for the body of water the Israelites crossed, but “Red Sea” for all other occurrences where it is certain the larger body of water is meant (so, in varying ways, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, although all use “Red Sea” in the New Testament for the waters Israel crossed). This third alternative is recommended, for to translate mechanically either “Red Sea” or “Sea of Reeds” in all passages fails to represent the meaning of the text. All occurrences of the term in the Book of Psalms are references to the Sea of Reeds.

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 .