| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the wayyiqtol vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | wāy-yōʾ-mer} ‘and he said’, introducing direct speech addressed to el-hashofetim {אֶל־הַשֹּׁפְטִים | ʾel-ha-šōp̄əṭîm} ‘to the judges’. The imperative reu {רְאוּ | rəʾû} ‘see’ functions as a warning to evaluate conduct, and the interrogative-plus-pronoun phrase mah-atem {מָה־אַתֶּם | māh-ʾat-tem} with the participle osim {עֹשִׂים | ʿōśîm} forms the object clause ‘what you are doing’, placing their actions under scrutiny. The first ki {כִּי | kî} introduces the ground for the warning, while the negation lo {לֹא | lōʾ} sets up a sharp contrast between leadam {לְאָדָם | lə-ʾāḏām} ‘for man’ and laYHWH {לַיהוָה | la-Yahweh} ‘for the LORD’, framing judicial work as accountable to God rather than human authority. The final prepositional sequence veimmakhem bidvar mishpat {וְעִמָּכֶם בִּדְבַר מִשְׁפָּט | wə-ʿimmāḵem bə-ḏəḇar mišpāṭ} ‘and with you in the matter of judgment’ is verbless in Hebrew; English supplies “He is” to express the implied presence of the LORD with them during judicial decisions, underscoring divine oversight at the very point of verdict. |