| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The line opens with af-attah {אַף־אַ֭תָּה | ʾap-ʾat-tāh} ‘even you’, an emphatic rebuke that heightens contrast by focusing blame directly on the addressee. The first clause centers on tafer {תָּפֵ֣ר | tā-p̄ēr} ‘you annul’, a Piel form that portrays active undoing rather than mere neglect, taking yirah {יִרְאָ֑ה | yir-ʾāh} ‘fear’ as its object, so the charge is the dismantling of reverent posture. The second clause is coordinated with vetigra {וְתִגְרַ֥ע | wə-ṯig-raʿ} ‘and you diminish’, forming a tight parallel accusation: not only is reverence canceled, but spiritual speech is reduced. The object sikhah {שִׂ֝יחָ֗ה | śî-ḥāh} ‘meditation’ can denote reflective devotion expressed in words, fitting the context of religious practice. The prepositional phrase lifnei-el {לִפְנֵי־אֵֽל | lip̄-nê-ʾēl} ‘before God’ anchors both accusations in the sphere of worship: the verbs describe actions taken in relation to God, not merely human social conduct. English keeps the two-verb parallelism (“annul … diminish / hinder”) to preserve the verse’s cumulative force. |