# General Information:

In much of this psalm, David writes as if he were a sheep and the Lord were his shepherd. Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/writing-poetry]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-parallelism]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-exmetaphor]])

# A psalm of David

This is a superscription that tells about the psalm. Some scholars say that this is part of the scripture and some say that it is not. (See "What are Superscriptions in Psalms" in [Introduction to Psalms](../front/intro.md).) 

# Yahweh is my shepherd

The writer speaks about Yahweh as if he were a shepherd. This emphasizes how God cares for people as a shepherd cares for his sheep. Alternate translation: "Yahweh is like a shepherd to me" or "Yahweh cares for me as a shepherd cares for his sheep" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor]])

# I will lack nothing

This can be stated in positive form. Alternate translation: "I have everything that I need" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-litotes]])