OET interlinear PSA 28:3

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative

אַל־תִּמְשְׁכֵ֣⁠נִי עִם־רְשָׁעִים֮

not (Some words not found in UHB: not drag,me_away with wicked and,with workers_of evil speak_of peace with neighbors_of,their and,evil [is]_in,heart_of,their )

Here Do not drag me away is an imperative, but it communicates a polite request rather than a command. If the imperative does not communicate a polite request for your readers, then use a form in your language that communicates a polite request. It may be helpful to add an expression such as “please” to make this clear. Alternate translation: [Please do not drag me away with the wicked]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אַל־תִּמְשְׁכֵ֣⁠נִי עִם־רְשָׁעִים֮

not (Some words not found in UHB: not drag,me_away with wicked and,with workers_of evil speak_of peace with neighbors_of,their and,evil [is]_in,heart_of,their )

Here David is speaking of God taking his life as if God were someone who might drag him away by force in order to kill him or judge and punish him. See how you translated the similar phrase “Do not gather my soul with the sinful” in [26:9](../026/009.md). If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Do not bring me away and punish me with the wicked] or [Do not let me die with the wicked]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

רְשָׁעִים֮ וְ⁠עִם־פֹּ֪עֲלֵ֫י אָ֥וֶן

(Some words not found in UHB: not drag,me_away with wicked and,with workers_of evil speak_of peace with neighbors_of,their and,evil [is]_in,heart_of,their )

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: [the wicked, that is, with the workers of iniquity] or [the wicked people who do evil deeds]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

רְשָׁעִים֮

(Some words not found in UHB: not drag,me_away with wicked and,with workers_of evil speak_of peace with neighbors_of,their and,evil [is]_in,heart_of,their )

David is using the adjective wicked as a noun to mean a certain kind of person. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this adjective with an equivalent phrase as in the UST.

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וְ⁠עִם־פֹּ֪עֲלֵ֫י אָ֥וֶן

and,with (Some words not found in UHB: not drag,me_away with wicked and,with workers_of evil speak_of peace with neighbors_of,their and,evil [is]_in,heart_of,their )

David 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: [and do not drag me away with the workers of iniquity]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

פֹּ֪עֲלֵ֫י אָ֥וֶן דֹּבְרֵ֣י שָׁ֭לוֹם עִם־רֵֽעֵי⁠הֶ֑ם

(Some words not found in UHB: not drag,me_away with wicked and,with workers_of evil speak_of peace with neighbors_of,their and,evil [is]_in,heart_of,their )

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of iniquity, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [the ones who do wicked things, the ones speaking of peaceful things with their neighbors]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

וְ֝⁠רָעָ֗ה בִּ⁠לְבָבָֽ⁠ם

and,evil (Some words not found in UHB: not drag,me_away with wicked and,with workers_of evil speak_of peace with neighbors_of,their and,evil [is]_in,heart_of,their )

David is using the adjective evil as a noun to mean evil thoughts or evil intentions. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you can translate this adjective with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: [while evil thoughts are in their hearts]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וְ֝⁠רָעָ֗ה בִּ⁠לְבָבָֽ⁠ם

and,evil (Some words not found in UHB: not drag,me_away with wicked and,with workers_of evil speak_of peace with neighbors_of,their and,evil [is]_in,heart_of,their )

Here David is speaking of evil as if it were an object that could be located inside people’s hearts. The “heart” represents the center of a person’s thoughts and intentions. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable expression or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [while they intend to do evil] or [while they have evil intentions]