OET interlinear PSA 77:9

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

הֲ⁠שָׁכַ֣ח חַנּ֣וֹת אֵ֑ל אִם־קָפַ֥ץ בְּ֝⁠אַ֗ף רַחֲמָ֥י⁠ו

(Some words not found in UHB: has,it_come_to_an_end? to,perpetuity loyalty_of,his_covenant at_an_end promise to,a_generation and,a_generation )

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: [Has God forgotten to be gracious and shut up his compassions in his nose]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

קָפַ֥ץ בְּ֝⁠אַ֗ף רַחֲמָ֥י⁠ו

(Some words not found in UHB: has,it_come_to_an_end? to,perpetuity loyalty_of,his_covenant at_an_end promise to,a_generation and,a_generation )

Asaph speaks of anger as if it were a person shutting a door to keep another person, compassion, from coming out. Alternate translation: [has God stopped showing us compassion because he is angry with us]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

הֲ⁠שָׁכַ֣ח חַנּ֣וֹת אֵ֑ל אִם־קָפַ֥ץ בְּ֝⁠אַ֗ף רַחֲמָ֥י⁠ו סֶֽלָה

(Some words not found in UHB: has,it_come_to_an_end? to,perpetuity loyalty_of,his_covenant at_an_end promise to,a_generation and,a_generation )

Asaph is using the question form to express his anguish and doubt, not to seek information. If a speaker of your language would not use the question form for that purpose, you could translate these questions as statements or as exclamations. Alternate translation: [God has forgotten to be gracious. He has shut off his compassion in anger.] or [Surely God has not forgotten to be gracious! Surely his anger has not shut off his compassion!]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

קָפַ֥ץ בְּ֝⁠אַ֗ף רַחֲמָ֥י⁠ו

(Some words not found in UHB: has,it_come_to_an_end? to,perpetuity loyalty_of,his_covenant at_an_end promise to,a_generation and,a_generation )

Asaph is speaking of God’s compassions as if they were something physical that his anger could shut up, like closing a door or stopping a flow. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your culture or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [has his anger caused him to withhold his compassion] or [has he withheld his compassion because of his anger]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

בְּ֝⁠אַ֗ף

(Some words not found in UHB: has,it_come_to_an_end? to,perpetuity loyalty_of,his_covenant at_an_end promise to,a_generation and,a_generation )

Here, nose represents anger. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [in his anger]