| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the interrogative-prefixed verb ha-ye-shul-lam {הַיְשֻׁלַּ֤ם | ha-ye-šul-lam} forming a rhetorical question of recompense. The antithetical phrase ta-hat-to-vah ra-ah {תַּֽחַת־טוֹבָה֙ רָעָ֔ה | ta-ḥaṯ-tô-wā rā-ʿāh} ‘evil in return for good’ underscores the moral inversion. The conjunction ki-karu {כִּֽי־כָר֥וּ | kî-kārū} introduces a causal clause karu shu-chah le-naf-shi {כָר֥וּ שׁוּחָ֖ה לְנַפְשִׁ֑י | kî-kārū šû-ḥāh lĕ-nap̄-šî} where ‘they dug a pit for my soul,’ depicting deadly intent. The imperative ze-khor {זְכֹ֣ר | zə-ḵōr} issues a direct appeal, and the perfect participle a-ma-di le-pa-ney-kha {עָמְדִ֣י לְפָנֶ֗יךָ | ʿā-ma-dî lə-pā-nê-kā} frames the prophet’s intercession. The paired infinitives le-da-ber a-ley-hem tov-ah {לְדַבֵּ֤ר עֲלֵיהֶם טוֹבָ֔ה | lə-da-ḇēr ʿă-lê-hem ṭô-wā} and le-ha-shiv et kha-mat-kha me-hem {לְהָשִׁ֥יב אֶת־חֲמָתְךָ֖ מֵהֶֽם | lə-hā-šîḇ ʾet ḥă-māṯ-kā mê-hem} ‘to speak good concerning them’ and ‘to turn Your wrath away from them’ express purpose and complete the shift from complaint to petition. |