| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the prohibitive particle al {אַל־ | ʾal} ‘do not’ coupled with the Qal imperfect jussive verb tihyeh {תִּֽהְיֵה־ | tih-yeh} ‘you shall be,’ forming a petition. The phrase li limchittah {לִ֖י לִמְחִתָּה | li lim-chi-tah} ‘to me a terror’ conveys the fear of becoming a source of dread. A contrasting affirmation follows through the construct machasi {מַחֲסִי | ma-ḥa-sî} ‘my refuge’ linked to the pronoun atah {אַתָּה | a-tah} ‘you,’ with the inversion highlighting the divine protector role. The temporal clause be-yōm ra'ah {בְּי֥וֹם רָעָֽה | bə-yōm rā-ʿāh} ‘in the day of evil’ frames the assurance within an imminent crisis. This juxtaposition of peril and security forms a chiastic parallelism, mirrored in the semicolon that divides supplication from confidence. |