| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The line opens with a fronted temporal frame, kol-yemei {כָּל־יְמֵי | kol-yəmê} “all the days of,” which sets the total span of life as the sphere of what follows. The phrase rasha {רָשָׁע | rāšāʿ} functions substantively (“a wicked man”), and the independent pronoun hu {הוּא | hûʾ} adds emphasis (“he himself”), heightening the portrayal of the wicked person’s condition. The participle mitholel {מִתְחוֹלֵל | miṯḥôlēl} conveys an ongoing, durative experience rather than a one-time event, fitting the verse’s “all the days” scope. The second clause is linked with vav in u-mispar {וּמִסְפַּר | û-mispar}, creating a parallel assertion: a quantified but unspecified “number of years” stands as the subject, and the Niphal perfect nitspenu {נִצְפְּנוּ | niṣpənû} presents those years as already “hidden/stored” in a settled state. The lamed phrase le-arits {לֶעָרִיץ | leʿārîṣ} marks the beneficiary or destined recipient of those concealed years, reinforcing an ominous, appointed outcome for the ruthless person. |