OET interlinear PSA 11:4

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

יְהוָ֤ה ׀ בְּֽ⁠הֵ֘יכַ֤ל קָדְשׁ֗⁠וֹ יְהוָה֮ בַּ⁠שָּׁמַ֪יִם כִּ֫סְא֥⁠וֹ

YHWH (Some words not found in UHB: YHWH in=(the)_palace his_holiness_of,his YHWH [is]_in,heavens throne_of,his eyes_of,his see eyelids_of,his test sons_of humankind )

Here the psalmist is speaking of God’s presence in heaven as if he were actually in a temple and as if the heavens were a place with a throne. You could translate the words literally or your language may have a comparable expression that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: [Yahweh is present in his holy sanctuary and rules as king from heaven]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

יְהוָ֤ה ׀ בְּֽ⁠הֵ֘יכַ֤ל קָדְשׁ֗⁠וֹ יְהוָה֮ בַּ⁠שָּׁמַ֪יִם כִּ֫סְא֥⁠וֹ

YHWH (Some words not found in UHB: YHWH in=(the)_palace his_holiness_of,his YHWH [is]_in,heavens throne_of,his eyes_of,his see eyelids_of,his test sons_of humankind )

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. Hebrew poetry was based on this kind of repetition, and it would be good to show this to your readers by including both phrases in your translation, if possible. If it is helpful, you could connect the phrases in a way that shows that the second phrase is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: [Yahweh is in his holy temple; yes, Yahweh is in the heavens, his throne] or [Yahweh is in his holy temple; indeed, Yahweh is in the heavens, his throne]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / distinguish

יְהוָה֮ בַּ⁠שָּׁמַ֪יִם כִּ֫סְא֥⁠וֹ

YHWH (Some words not found in UHB: YHWH in=(the)_palace his_holiness_of,his YHWH [is]_in,heavens throne_of,his eyes_of,his see eyelids_of,his test sons_of humankind )

The psalmist is not distinguishing this throne from another throne that is not in heaven. The psalmist is showing God’s greatness compared to human rulers who rule from a throne on earth, by adding that the heavens are the place of God’s throne (where he rules from). Be sure that this is clear in your translation. Alternate translation: [Yahweh is in the heavens, they are his throne] or [Yahweh’s throne is in the heavens]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

יְהוָה֮ בַּ⁠שָּׁמַ֪יִם כִּ֫סְא֥⁠וֹ

YHWH (Some words not found in UHB: YHWH in=(the)_palace his_holiness_of,his YHWH [is]_in,heavens throne_of,his eyes_of,his see eyelids_of,his test sons_of humankind )

Here, God’s throne represents his “rule.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [Yahweh rules from the heavens]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

עֵינָ֥י⁠ו יֶחֱז֑וּ

eyes_of,his see

The psalmist is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: [His eyes see the sons of men] or [His eyes see everything that people do]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

עֵינָ֥י⁠ו יֶחֱז֑וּ עַפְעַפָּ֥י⁠ו יִ֝בְחֲנ֗וּ

eyes_of,his see (Some words not found in UHB: YHWH in=(the)_palace his_holiness_of,his YHWH [is]_in,heavens throne_of,his eyes_of,his see eyelids_of,his test sons_of humankind )

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. Hebrew poetry was based on this kind of repetition, and it would be good to show this to your readers by including both phrases in your translation, if possible. If it is helpful, you could connect the phrases in a way that shows that the second phrase is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: [His eyes see, yes, his eyelids test] or [His eyes see, indeed, his eyelids test]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

עֵינָ֥י⁠ו יֶחֱז֑וּ עַפְעַפָּ֥י⁠ו יִ֝בְחֲנ֗וּ

eyes_of,his see (Some words not found in UHB: YHWH in=(the)_palace his_holiness_of,his YHWH [is]_in,heavens throne_of,his eyes_of,his see eyelids_of,his test sons_of humankind )

Here, eyes and eyelids represent God’s ability to see and evaluate everything people do. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [He sees, he tests]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

בְּנֵ֣י אָדָֽם

(Some words not found in UHB: YHWH in=(the)_palace his_holiness_of,his YHWH [is]_in,heavens throne_of,his eyes_of,his see eyelids_of,his test sons_of humankind )

The psalmist is using sons of man as a common expression of his culture to mean “all human beings.” If this phrase does not have that meaning in your language, you could use a comparable expression from your language that does have that meaning, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the children of mankind] or [every human being]