| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse consists of two coordinated clauses. The fronted prepositional phrase lehelek {לְחֵלֶק | ləḥēleq} ‘for a portion’ sets motive and gives the line a pointed, proverbial tone by placing gain first. The verb yaggid {יַגִּיד | yag-gîḏ} ‘he makes known’ takes reim {רֵעִים | rē-‘îm} ‘friends’ as its object; in context, “making known” concerns reporting information about companions in a way that harms them, so English expresses the implied adversative force with “inform against / inform on,” while staying anchored to the core sense “tell, report.” The second clause, introduced by vav, presents the consequence: ve-einei banav {וְעֵינֵי בָנָיו | wə-‘ê-nê bā-nāyw} is a construct chain functioning as the subject (“the eyes of his sons”), and tiklenah {תִּכְלֶנָה | tik-lē-nāh} ‘will fail’ depicts wasting away. The pairing of betrayal-for-gain with generational loss forms a compact cause-and-result proverb: private treachery yields lasting family ruin. |