| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prophetic interjection hoy {הוֹי | hôy} ‘woe,’ signaling divine judgment. It then introduces a condition with the participle boneh {בֹנֶה | bō-nĕ} ‘builder’ followed by the construct phrase beito belo-tsedeq {בֵיתוֹ בְּלֹא־צֶדֶק | bē-ṯô bǝ-lō-ṣe-ḏeq} (‘his house without righteousness’), which is mirrored by vaʿaliyotav belo-mishpat {וַעֲלִיּוֹתָיו בְּלֹא־מִשְׁפָּט | wa-ʿǎ-lî-yō-ṯāw bǝ-lō-miš-pāṭ} (‘his upper rooms without justice’). The imperfect verb yaʿavod {יַעֲבֹד | ya-ʿǎ-ḇōḏ} ‘he makes serve’ introduces the action of exploitation, intensified by the adverb khinnam ‘for nothing.’ Each clause is connected by the conjunction waw, forming a cumulative sequence that culminates in the negative imperfect yitten-lo {יִתֶּן־לוֹ | yi-ṭṭēn-lô} ‘he does not give to him.’ The parallel structure between moral deficiency (righteousness/justice) and economic wrongdoing (serve/pay) reinforces the prophetic condemnation of social injustice. |