| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the Piel perfect verb pititani {פִּתִּיתַ֤נִי | pitītānī} ‘you have deceived me’, introducing an accusatory address to Yahweh {יְהוָה֙ | Yə-hō-wāh}. The waw + Niphal imperfect consecutive vaepat {וֽ͏ָאֶפָּ֔ת | waʾeppāṯ} ‘and I was deceived’ emphasizes Jeremiah’s passive response. The pair ḥazaqtani {חֲזַקְתַּ֖נִי | ḥăzaqtānī} ‘you have prevailed over me’ and vattukhal {וַתּוּכָ֑ל | wattūḵal} ‘and you prevailed’ form a parallel structure highlighting divine overpowering. The perfect hayiti {הָיִ֤יתִי | hāyītī} ‘I have become’ introduces the resultant state linked to lisḥoq {לִשְׂחוֹק֙ | lisḥoq} ‘laughter’, with kol-hayyom {כָּל־הַיּ֔וֹם | kol-hayyôm} marking a continuous temporal frame. The participle loʿeg {לֹעֵ֥ג | lōʿēg} in kullo loʿeg lī ‘everyone mocks me’ widens the scene to communal scorn. The structured progression from divine action to human consequence informs the English parallelism and transitions. |