עָלַ֨י

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 עָלַ֨י

   a-LAI

   against me
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 פָּעֲר֬וּ עָלַ֨י בְּפִיהֶ֗ם

   pa-a-RU a-LAI be-fi-HEM

   they have opened wide against me with their mouth
3. clause🔊 פָּעֲר֬וּ עָלַ֨י בְּפִיהֶ֗ם בְּ֭חֶרְפָּה הִכּ֣וּ לְחָיָ֑י

   pa-a-RU a-LAI be-fi-HEM be-KHER-pa hik-KU le-kha-YAI

   they have opened wide against me with their mouth with reproach they struck my cheek
4. sentence🔊 פָּעֲר֬וּ עָלַ֨י בְּפִיהֶ֗ם בְּ֭חֶרְפָּה הִכּ֣וּ לְחָיָ֑י יַ֝֗חַד עָלַ֥י יִתְמַלָּאֽוּן׃

   pa-a-RU a-LAI be-fi-HEM be-KHER-pa hik-KU le-kha-YAI ya-KHAD a-LAI yit-mal-LA-un

   they have opened wide against me with their mouth with reproach they struck my cheek together against me they fill themselves or they muster

Exegesis

The opening perfect verb paaru {פָּעֲר֬וּ | pāʿărû} ‘they have gaped’ is immediately focused by alai {עָלַ֨י | ʿālay} ‘against me,’ and the prepositional phrase befihhem {בְּפִיהֶ֗ם | bə-pî-hem} ‘in their mouth’ paints a vivid image of public derision.

The final line shifts from individual acts to coordinated opposition: yachad {יַ֝֗חַד | yaḥad} ‘together’ front-loads the collective force, alai {עָלַ֥י | ʿālay} reiterates the target for emphasis, and the Hitpael imperfect yitmallaun {יִתְמַלָּאֽוּן | yitmallāʾûn} ‘they gather themselves’ portrays an ongoing, self-mustering movement. The formal rendering preserves the step-by-step sequence; the dynamic rendering expresses the mouth-gaping idiom as jeering while keeping the escalation from ridicule to physical abuse to unified hostility.