| 23. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the interrogative hechapotz {הֶחָפֹץ | he-chā-pōṣ} ‘do I take pleasure?’ paired with echpotz {אֶחְפֹּץ | ʾe-ḥpōṣ} ‘I desire’, intensifying the divine stance toward rasha {רָשָׁע | rā-šāʿ} ‘wicked’. The prophetic formula neum Adonai Yahweh {נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה | nə-ʾûm ʾă-dō-nāy yə-hō-wāh} frames the declaration as authoritative divine speech. The particle halo {הֲל֛וֹא | hă-lōʾ} ‘is it not’ introduces a contrast, highlighting preference over punishment. The construct beshuvo middrakhav {בְּשׁוּבוֹ מִדְּרָכָיו | bə-šū-ḇō mid-rā-ḵāw} forms a conditional phrase ‘if he turns from his ways’, and vechayah {וְחָיָה | wə-ḥā-yā} ‘and live’ states the intended outcome of restoration. The Hebrew balances a rhetorical question with a hopeful resolution, and the English retains this parallelism. |