OET interlinear PSA 18:20

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

יִגְמְלֵ֣⁠נִי יְהוָ֣ה כְּ⁠צִדְקִ֑⁠י כְּ⁠בֹ֥ר יָ֝דַ֗⁠י יָשִׁ֥יב לִֽ⁠י

(Some words not found in UHB: and,he,brought_me_out to_(the),place he,rescued_me that/for/because/then/when delighted in,me )

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 you may want to show this to your readers by including both phrases in your translation. 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 has rewarded me according to my righteousness; yes, according to the cleanness of my hands he has given back to me]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

כְּ⁠צִדְקִ֑⁠י

(Some words not found in UHB: and,he,brought_me_out to_(the),place he,rescued_me that/for/because/then/when delighted in,me )

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of righteousness, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [according to the right things I have done] or [because I have acted righteously]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

כְּ⁠בֹ֥ר יָ֝דַ֗⁠י

(Some words not found in UHB: and,he,brought_me_out to_(the),place he,rescued_me that/for/because/then/when delighted in,me )

David is speaking of his actions as if they were his hands, which could be physically clean or dirty. He means that his behavior has been morally pure. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly here and in [verse 25](../028/025.md). Alternate translation: [according to the innocence of my actions]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

יָשִׁ֥יב לִֽ⁠י

(Some words not found in UHB: and,he,brought_me_out to_(the),place he,rescued_me that/for/because/then/when delighted in,me )

David is using he has given back to me as a common expression of his culture to mean “he has treated me in the same way.” If this phrase does not have that meaning for your readers, you could use a comparable expression from your language that does have that meaning, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [he has treated me in the same way]