For Good Shepherd Sunday, the Psalm reading was Psalm 23. Following along in the German, I noticed some significant alliteration in verse 4: "Und ob ich schon wanderte im finstern Tal, fürchte ich kein Unglück; denn du bist bei mir, dein Stecken und Stab trösten mich." In English, this is "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
The rod and staff are what the shepherd uses to guide the sheep and to maintain order. In the German, this order is emphasized through that alliteration: "dein Stecken und Stab trösten mich."
Looking just at the English, it occurs to me that "your rod and your staff, they comfort me" is pleonastic. Grammatically, the "they" is redundant, but the restatement of "your rod and staff" (even if it's only as a pronoun) illustrates the assurance that their presence provides.
