| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with ve’amru {וְאָמְרוּ | wə-’āmrû} ‘and they said’, a vav-consecutive perfect clause introducing direct speech. It then presents the Niph‘al perfect no’ash {נוֹאָשׁ | nō’āš} ‘it is hopeless’ to express existential despair. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introduces a causal clause, while acharei {אַחֲרֵי | ʾaḥărê} forms the prepositional phrase acharei machshevoteinu {אַחֲרֵי מַחְשְׁבוֹתֵינוּ | ʾaḥărê maḥšəḇôtênû} ‘after our plans,’ signaling volitional commitment. The Qal imperfect verbs nēlêḵ {נֵלֵ֔ךְ | nēlêḵ} ‘we will go’ and na‘ăśeh {נַעֲשֶֽׂה | na‘ăśeh} ‘we will do’ denote resolute future actions. The construct chain ve’îš šərîrût libbô-hārāʿ {וְאִישׁ שְׁרִרוּת לִבּוֹ־הָרָע | wə’îš šərîrût libbô-hārāʿ} ‘and each man the stubbornness of his evil heart’ links each individual (ve’îš) with moral resolve through šərîrût libbô-hārāʿ, highlighting defiant will. English SVO order clarifies the causative and volitional structure. |