| 40. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with velo {וְלֹא | wə-lōʾ} ‘and not’, a negator preceding the perfect verb shame’u {שָׁמֵעוּ | šā-me-ʾû} ‘they listened’, emphasizing their refusal. The contrastive conjunction ki im {כִּי אִם | kî ʾim} introduces the construct chain ke-mishpatam {כְּמִשְׁפָּטָם | kə-miš-pā-ṭām} ‘according to their custom’ with harishon {הָרִאשׁוֹן | hā-rîʾšôn} ‘the former’, linking action to a prior pattern. The participle osim {עֹשִׂם | ʿô-śîm} conveys ongoing practice and is rendered with a finite verb in English to reflect habitual aspect. |