Psalm 25:1, 3

When I read Psalm 25 in my German Psalter, I noticed some significance in the word order in the first verse:  "Nach dir, HERR, verlanget mich."  The pronoun ("dir" "You") and vocative ("HERR" "LORD") come first in the clause, illustrating the importance that the Lord holds for the Psalmist.  The German here means something like "For You, Lord, I long," but all of the English translations I referenced have "To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul."

I also noticed a chiasm in verse 3, although a relative clause complicates it a bit:

Denn keiner

wird zuschanden, der auf dich harret;

aber zuschanden werden

die leichtfertigen Verächter.

It's clearer in the Hebrew:

גַּם כָּל־קֹוֶיךָ

לֹא יֵבֹשׁוּ

יֵבֹשׁוּ

הַבּוֹגְדִים רֵיקָֽם׃

and even in the Latin Vulgate (where the versification is different, so this bridges verses 3 and 4):

sed et universi qui sperant in te

non confundantur

confundantur

qui iniqua gerunt frustra

In English, this is something like:

But all who hope in you

will not be put to shame;

will be put to shame

those who act treacherously in vain

The chiastic structure highlights the difference between "those who hope in you" and "those who act treacherously" and - obviously - between "will not be put to shame" and "will be put to shame."

1 Chronicles 22:11, 16

When I read 1 Chronicles 22 in the NIV last year, I noticed two instances of "the LORD be with you" (in verses 11 and 16) and correctly guessed that these are rendered with tecum in the Latin Vulgate:

sit Dominus tecum ("may the LORD be with you")

erit Dominus tecum ("the LORD will be with you")

As I've noted before, tecum is the prepositional phrase "cum te" ("with you") with its words inverted and combined, and in this context, it provides a slightly greater sense of accompaniment since "te" ("you") and "Dominus" ("the LORD") are directly next to each other.

Psalm 18:4, 27

While reading Psalm 18 in my German Psalter last year, I found a couple points to note.

Verse 5 is:

Es umfingen mich des Todes Bande, und die Fluten des Verderbens erschreckten mich.

In the ESV (where this is verse 4), it's:

The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me

The German is a bit redundant (literally:  "it encompass me of the death [the] cords"), but this does result in a somewhat literal picture of what the verse is describing:  "me" really is "encompass[ed]," between "the cords of death" and the pleonastic "it."

In the Hebrew, this clause is:

אֲפָפוּנִי חֶבְלֵי־מָוֶת

The verb has a pronominal suffix and is followed by an explicit subject ("encompass-me the cords of death"), but if a less specific subject (a generic "they") is understood as inflected into the verb, the structure is the same as the German:  "they encompass me, the cords of death."

The Latin Vulgate is comparable:  "[ei] circumdederunt me funes mortis."

---&---

Verse 28 has a chiastic structure, although some of the elements are equated a bit loosely:

Denn du

hilfst

dem elenden Volk,

aber stolze Augen

erniedrigst

du.

For You

help

the miserable people,

but proud eyes [accusative]

lower

You [nominative].

This structure highlights the difference between "dem elenden Volk" (miserable people) and "stolze Augen" (proud eyes) and between "hilfst" (help) and "erniedrigst" (lower).

This structure isn't in the Hebrew, but in the ESV (in which this is verse 27), the order is as similar as English syntax will allow:  "For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down."

John 16:32

John 16:23-33 was the reading on a Worship Anew program in May last year (The Sixth Sunday of Easter, 25 May), and in verse 32 in the Vulgate, I found an-other instance of a minor feature I've noted a few times before.

ecce venit hora et iam venit ut dispergamini unusquisque in propria et me solum relinquatis et non sum solus quia Pater mecum est

In the ESV, this is:

"Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone.  Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me."

In Latin, the words in the prepositional phrase "cum me" ("with me") are inverted and combined into mecum.  Consequently, me is directly next to Pater ("the Father"), lending a slightly greater sense of this accompaniment, especially in this instance since these are two figures of the Trinity.

Psalm 16:6

When I read Psalm 16 in my German Psalter, I found the same sort of feature in verse 6 that I'd noticed in the ESV years ago.

Das Los ist mir gefallen auf liebliches Land; mir ist ein schönes Erbteil geworden.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

The phrase "liebliches Land" ("lovely land," comparable to the ESV's "pleasant places") alliterates, and in a small way, this euphony matches the meaning.

John 14:6

Years ago, I noticed that part of John 14:6 exhibits alliteration in the Vulgate:

dicit ei Iesus ego sum via et veritas et vita nemo venit ad Patrem nisi per me

In the ESV, this is:

Jesus said to him [Thomas], "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."

Earlier this year, I encountered this verse again and realized that coincidentally, the alliteration matches the meaning in a way.  There's an exclusivity common to both:  Jesus is the only means of reaching the Father, and the words that describe Him here all start with the same letter.

Psalm 10:5, 7

I found a couple features in my German translation of Psalm 10 that highlight the meaning.

Verse 5 is:

Er fährt fort in seinem Tun immerdar.  Deine Gerichte sind ferne von ihm, er handelt gewaltsam an allen seinen Feinden.

In the ESV, this is:

His ways prosper at all times; your judgements are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.

"Deine Gerichte" ("your judgements") and "ihm" ("him") are at opposite ends of the clause, giving a sense of the distance between them.  (In German, it's more prosaic:  "Your judgements are far from him," but the ESV renders it as "your judgements are high, out of his sight.")

Verse 7:

Seine Mund ist voll Fluchens, voll Lug und Trug; seine Zunge richtet Mühsal und Unheil an.

His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

The repetition of sound between "Lug" and "Trug" (in a phrase that means something like "lies and deception") lends a slight sense of abundance, which matches being "filled."

Psalm 9:4, 18

When I read Psalm 9 in my German Psalter, I found the same sort of feature that I noticed in Psalm 7:11.  In German, it's in verse 5:

Denn du führst mein Recht und meine Sache, du sitzest auf dem Thron, ein rechter Richter.

But in the ESV, this is verse 4:

For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgement.

To a degree, the repetition of the consonance in "rechter Richter" ("just judge," comparable to the ESV's "giving righteous judgement") lends a sense of orderliness.

As with Psalm 7:11, the corresponding Latin and Italian phrases exhibit alliteration, providing a similar effect (in the Latin Vulgate, it's also verse 5):

fecisti enim iudicium meum et causam meam sedisti super solium iudex iustitiae

Conciossiachè tu mi abbi fatta ragione e diritto; tu ti sei posto a sedere sopra il trono, come giusto giudice.

---&---

A number of qualities highlight the parallelism in verse 19 of the German:

Denn er wird den Armen nicht für immer vergessen; die Hoffnung der Elenden wird nicht ewig verloren sein.

In the ESV, this is verse 18:

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

Vergessen (forgotten) and verloren (lost, comparable to the ESV's perish) alliterate and have the same number of syllables, and the emphasis falls on the same syllable in each (the second).  The similar sounds of the words match the parallel structure in which they appear.

Psalm 8:4

I'd previously noticed the parallelism in Psalm 8:4, but when I read the verse in German months ago, the foreignness of the language made me realize that this parallelism has a significant unevenness.

In the German Psalter, it's verse 5:

was ist der Mensch, daß du seiner gedenkst,

und des Menschen Kind, daß du dich seiner annimmst?

In the ESV, this is:

What is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

Structurally, "der Mensch" ("man") parallels "des Menschen Kind" ("the son of man"), but the genitive relationship shows that this "son" has a lower rank than the "man."  He's under his authority and obviously younger.  The two figures here continue the narrowing scope that began in verse 3:  the "heavens," "the moon and the stars," "man," and finally "the son of man."   This sort of zooming in emphasizes the smallness of "the son of man," and yet he still receives God's care.

Psalm 7:11

As I've been going through my German Psalter, I've found many instances of the same minuscule features.  I'm going to keep them divided by Psalm as I write about them, however, even though this arrangement will result in multiple short posts that may be repetitive and perhaps even insignificant.

In the German Psalter, Psalm 7:12 is "Gott ist ein gerechter Richter und ein Gott, der täglich strafen kann."  In the ESV, this is verse 11:  "God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day."

The phrase "gerechter Richter" ("righteous judge") exhibits consonance, and to a degree, the repetition of these sounds provides a sense of the orderliness involved.  A similar effect is achieved with alliteration ("just judge") in the NKJV:  "God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day."

Last month, the Daily Dose of Hebrew went over this verse (it's verse 12 in the Hebrew):

Before I watched the video, I read the verse in Latin and Italian (I've been referencing this Italian Bible from 1894) and noticed that the corresponding phrases alliterate in these languages, too:

Deus iudex iustus et fortis comminans tota die

Iddio è giusto giudice, e un Dio che si adira ogni giorno.

Daniel 11:12

Months ago, the Daily Dose of Hebrew went over Daniel 11:12:

וְנִשָּׂא הֶהָמוֹן וְרָם לְבָבוֹ וְהִפִּיל רִבֹּאוֹת וְלֹא יָעֽוֹז׃

And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.  [ESV]

In the Hebrew, it's a bit easier to see the relationship between "be exalted" and "cast down."  Both have meanings that could also refer more literally to directions.  Their combination in this context, with opposing forces going different ways (the king's heart is exalted while his enemies are cast down), provides an added degree of emphasis.

I also noticed a small feature in the Vulgate:

et capiet multitudinem et exaltabitur cor eius et deiciet multa milia sed non praevalebit

The phrase "multa milia" (many thousands) alliterates, and the repetition involved lends a small sense of this abundance.

Psalm 23:4

Back in May, KFUO tweeted the fourth stanza of "The King of Love My Shepherd Is":

In death's dark vale I fear no ill

With Thee, dear Lord, beside me,

Thy rod and staff my comfort still,

Thy cross before to guide me.

Much of the hymn is drawn from Psalm 23; this particular stanza comes from verse 4.  Because "Thy rod and staff" are presented along with "Thy cross" here, I realized that - in a way - the original verse from the Psalm includes the cross, too.  In the immediate context, "your rod and your staff" are a literal rod and staff that "comfort me" because they illustrate the shepherd's readiness to defend and guide the sheep.  In a more metaphorical reading, "your rod and your staff" could represent the vertical and horizontal beams of the cross, which "comfort[s] me" because it shows Jesus's willingness to accept the punishment we deserve and grant us salvation.