OET interlinear PSA 61:3

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

הָיִ֣יתָ מַחְסֶ֣ה לִ֑⁠י מִגְדַּל־עֹ֝֗ז מִ⁠פְּנֵ֥י אוֹיֵֽב

(Some words not found in UHB: from,the_end_of the=earth/land to,you call when,grows_faint heart_of,my on,a_rock higher more,than_me you,will_lead_me )

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: [you are a refuge to me, you are a strong tower from the face of the enemy]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

הָיִ֣יתָ מַחְסֶ֣ה לִ֑⁠י מִגְדַּל־עֹ֝֗ז מִ⁠פְּנֵ֥י אוֹיֵֽב

(Some words not found in UHB: from,the_end_of the=earth/land to,you call when,grows_faint heart_of,my on,a_rock higher more,than_me you,will_lead_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: [you are a refuge to me, indeed, you are a strong tower from the face of the enemy]

Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

כִּֽי־הָיִ֣יתָ מַחְסֶ֣ה לִ֑⁠י

(Some words not found in UHB: from,the_end_of the=earth/land to,you call when,grows_faint heart_of,my on,a_rock higher more,than_me you,will_lead_me )

The word translated as For indicates that what follows is a reason for what came before. Use a connector in your language that makes it clear that what follows is a reason for what came before. Alternate translation: [Because you are a refuge to me]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

הָיִ֣יתָ מַחְסֶ֣ה לִ֑⁠י

(Some words not found in UHB: from,the_end_of the=earth/land to,you call when,grows_faint heart_of,my on,a_rock higher more,than_me you,will_lead_me )

Here David is speaking as if God were a physical shelter. Your language may have a comparable expression that you can use in your translation, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [you are a place of protection for me] or [you are a place of safety for me]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מִגְדַּל־עֹ֝֗ז מִ⁠פְּנֵ֥י אוֹיֵֽב

(Some words not found in UHB: from,the_end_of the=earth/land to,you call when,grows_faint heart_of,my on,a_rock higher more,than_me you,will_lead_me )

Here David is speaking as if God were a fortified tower. Your language may have a comparable expression that you can use in your translation, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [a fortress that protects me from the enemy]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

מִ⁠פְּנֵ֥י אוֹיֵֽב

(Some words not found in UHB: from,the_end_of the=earth/land to,you call when,grows_faint heart_of,my on,a_rock higher more,than_me you,will_lead_me )

David is using from the face of as a common expression to mean “away from the presence of.” 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: [from the enemy] or [when the enemy comes]