| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prepositional clause batsar-li {בַּצַּר־לִי֙ | baṣar-lî} ‘in my distress’, which sets the psalmist’s urgent condition. The verb eqra {אֶקְרָ֣א | ’ĕqrā’} is repeated to form synonymous parallelism in addressing Yahweh then Elohai. The vav-consecutive wayyishma {וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע | wayyišma‘} signals the shift to divine response. The phrase meheykalo {מֵהֵֽיכָלוֹ֙ | mēhēyḵālō} ‘from His temple’ specifies the locus of hearing, while the paired objects qoli {קוֹלִ֔י | qōlî} ‘my voice’ and we-shaw-ati {וְשַׁוְעָתִ֖י | wĕšaw‘ātî} ‘my cry’ intensify the appeal. The closing clause be-oznaw {בְּאָזְנָֽיו׃ | bə’ōznāw} ‘in His ears’ conveys the closeness of divine attention. English preserves this Hebrew progression from plea to reception through clear clause sequencing and maintained parallel structure. |