You seem to be interested in the bible as literature. So am I, the songs/poems in particular. To quote myself, ” Psalms are among the densest poems/songs ever written; much of the meaning rests in the connotations. All too frequently, metaphors depend upon this multivocality.”

I have done an in-depth analysis of the 23rd. It’s in Chapter 10, “To Sing a New Song,” of my book, Absent Voices. The psalm itself is on pp. 167-176. Pages 172-173 give a detailed table of the connotative and denotative meanings. It also lists whether a meaning is intrinsic or selective according to domain. The 23rd needs a detailed table.

Not only is this psalm written in a double envelope pattern, but has one sustained metaphor (God/Lord the shepherd) and two conceptual domains (lamb and little boy). It is written on two levels, throughout. Further, every line in that psalm refers back and forth to other lines. This is not just the “sunny little psalm. It is a poetic tour de force.

Yes, indeed, the contrast is between ills and goods (internal reverse order envelope). You are right about pursue… but you do not take it far enough. The double domain means that yirdefuni should be understood on both levels. So, follow me/pursue me/chase after me (to yank me back on the right path with his shepherd’s crook — which refers back to umishantekha, which refers forward to yirdefuni). Yep, only two of the 30 metaphoric triggers in that little Psalm!

If you wish, I can scan the tables for you.