In parallelism, two phrases or clauses that are similar in structure or idea are used together. The following are some of the different kinds of parallelism.
Parallelism is most commonly found in Old Testament poetry, such as in the books of Psalms and Proverbs. It also occurs in Greek in the New Testament, both in the four gospels and in the apostles’ letters.
Some languages would not use synonymous parallelism. They would either think it odd that someone said the same thing twice, or they would think that the two phrases must have some difference in meaning. For them it would be confusing, rather than beautiful.
Note: We use the term “synonymous parallelism” for long phrases or clauses that have the same meaning. We use the term [Doublet](../figs-doublet/01.md) for words or very short phrases that mean basically the same thing and are used together.
For most kinds of parallelism, it is good to translate both of the clauses or phrases. For synonymous parallelism, it is good to translate both clauses if people in your language understand that the purpose of saying something twice is to strengthen a single idea. But if your language does not use parallelism in this way, then consider using one of the following translation strategies.
(2) If it appears that the clauses are used together to show that what they say is really true, you could include words that emphasize the truth such as “truly” or “certainly.”
> Until now you have dealt deceitfully with me and you have spoken lies to me. (Judges 16:13, ULT) – Delilah expressed this idea twice to emphasize that she was very upset.
> Yahweh sees everything a person does and watches all the paths he takes. (Proverbs 5:21 ULT) – The phrase “all the paths he takes” is a metaphor for “all he does.”
> For Yahweh has a lawsuit with his people, and he will fight in court against Israel. (Micah 6:2 ULT) – This parallelism describes one serious disagreement that Yahweh had with one group of people. If this is unclear, the phrases can be combined:
(2) If it appears that the clauses are used together to show that what they say is really true, you could include words that emphasize the truth such as “truly” or “certainly.”