| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse presents two parallel verbless clauses, each requiring an implied copula in English. In the first clause, zikhroneikhem {זִֽ֭כְרֹנֵיכֶם | zikrōnêkem} functions as the topic and mishlei-efer {מִשְׁלֵי־אֵ֑פֶר | mišlê-ʾēp̄er} as its predicate in a construct chain that evokes memories dispersing like ash. The second clause begins with the locative prepositional phrase le-gabei-chomer {לְגַבֵּי־חֹ֝֗מֶר | lə-gabbê-ḥōmer}, resumed by gabbekhem {גַּבֵּיכֶֽם | gabbêkem}, creating tight parallelism: the support (backs) is itself clay, underscoring fragility and futility. |