| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the waw-consecutive ve’omru {וְאָֽמְרוּ | wə-’ōmərū} ‘and they say,’ introducing reported speech. The noun phrase beit yisra’el {בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל | bêt yiś-rā-’ēl} functions as the subject identifying the Israelite community. The clause lo yittakhen {לֹא יִתָּכֵן | lōʾ yit-tā-khēn} expresses a complaint about divine justice. The construct derekh Adonai {דֶּרֶךְ אֲדֹנָי | de-reḵ ʾă-dō-nāy} indicates divine possession of the way. A parallel rhetorical question halō darkheikhem lo yittakhen {הֲלֹא דַרְכֵיכֶם לֹא יִתָּכֵן | ha-lōʾ dar-khe-khem lōʾ yit-tā-khēn} contrasts divine and human conduct, reinforcing the challenge to Israel’s sense of fairness. |