1. Psalm 144:9-10 under-translates a relative clause.  Follows RSV; departs from KJV and ASV. — Here’s the passage in question:

    9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
    10  who gives victory to kings,
    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword. 

    Do you see the problem?  Verse 9 addresses God in the second person (i.e., “you”), but the relative clauses in verse 10 talk about God in the third person (i.e., “[he] who gives”).  The reader expects the conjugation of the verbs in the relative clauses to be in the second person (i.e., “give”).
    In the KJV, the transition is marked by an inserted “It is he” at the beginning of verse 10.  The ASV inserts “Thou art he.”  At least in the RSV (the ESV base text), the use of archaic forms in passages addressing God (don’t ask me why) carries the transition a little better.  The ESV editors removed the archaic form, but failed to correct the incongruity between the second-person verse 9 and the third-person verse 10.  In case you’re wondering, the ESV consistently translates relative clauses in the second person as “you who [verb],” with the verb conjugated in the second person.  (E.g., Ps. 80:1.)  So,  to have 9 lead into 10 with “you, who” suggests a continuity that is lacking.  The editors don’t even use a semicolon, but rest the change in person on a single comma and a subtle change in verb tense.  Also, in case you’re wondering, the ESV uses the construction “it is he who” multiple times, and also uses “you are he who” twice, so either of those would be an easy fix, consistent with the ESV’s practice elsewhere.  (The RSV-SCE fixes the problem by changing the person of the verbs in verse 10 to the second person, but that is not faithful to the original text.  The KJV /ASV approach is the most accurate.)

  2. Psalm 83:15 uses “hurricane.”  Follows RSV; departs from KJV and ASV. — Instead of the word “storm” (KJV, ASV), the ESV follows the RSV with the word “hurricane.”  This is goofy.  “Hurricane” comes from an indigenous Caribbean language, and today it denotes a tropical Northern Atlantic or Northeastern Pacific cyclone with winds ≥ 74 mph.  Hurricanes, as we know them, simply do not occur in the Middle East, where Psalm 83 was written.  Although I’m no paleoclimatologist, I think it’s safe to say that it’s anachronistic for American translators to use this word.  If “storm” is too tame, try “thunderstorm.”  In no case is “hurricane” acceptable, especially after August 29, 2005!