| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The causal prepositional phrase al-ken {עַל־כֵן | ʿal-kên} ‘therefore’ links this oracle to the preceding judgment. The universal quantifier kôl {כֹּל | kôl} heads two parallel nominal constructions, kôl-yă-ḏă-yîm {כָּל־יָדַיִם | kôl-yă-ḏă-yîm} and kôl-lē-ḇāḇ {כָּל־לְבַב | kôl-lē-ḇāḇ}, underscoring totality in physical agency and inner resolve. The verb tir-p̄ê-nāh {תִּרְפֶּינָה | tir-p̄ê-nāh} in the qal imperfect third person feminine plural agrees with the dual noun, conveying definitive future weakening. In the second clause, the noun lē-ḇāḇ {לֵבָב | lē-ḇāḇ} ‘heart’ functions metaphorically as the seat of determination, while ʾə-nôš {אֱנוֹשׁ | ʾə-nôš} ‘mortal one’ highlights human frailty. The niphal imperfect yim-mâs {יִמָּס | yim-mâs} expresses reflexive melting or disintegration. The Hebrew poetic parallelism and future aspect are preserved in English by maintaining the twofold structure and the sense of impending collapse. |