| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with akh-elleh {אַךְ־אֵ֭לֶּה | ʾaḵ-ʾêl-leh} ‘surely these’, where the emphatic particle frames the line as a concluding verdict and the demonstrative points to the described outcome as definite and observable. The first clause is a verbless identification (“these … dwellings”), with mishkenot {מִשְׁכְּנ֣וֹת | miškənôṯ} ‘dwellings’ followed by avval {עַוָּ֑ל | ʿaw-wāl} ‘wicked one’; their close juxtaposition signals a possessive relationship (dwellings belonging to the wicked). The second clause is joined by vezeh {וְ֝זֶ֗ה | wə-zeh} ‘and this’, forming a parallel pair (“these …” / “this …”) that heightens the summary force. The string lo-yada-el {לֹא־יָדַֽע־אֵֽל׃ | lō-yāḏaʿ-ʾēl} ‘not knew God’ functions as a relative description of “the one,” without an explicit relative marker in Hebrew; English supplies “who” or “one who” to make the relationship clear. The perfect form within yāḏaʿ {יָדַע | yāḏaʿ} is rendered in present sense (“does not know”) to reflect a characteristic, ongoing stance rather than a single past event. The final s {ס | sāmek} marks a Masoretic paragraph division, reinforcing the verse as a closing statement within the speech. |