| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the Qal imperfect verb yihiyu {יִהְי֗וּ | yiḥī-yū} ‘they will be’, projecting a future comparative scenario. The preposition kə- in kətebên {כְּתֶ֥בֶן | kə-ṯeḇên} ‘like straw’ introduces the first simile, immediately followed by the locative construct lip̄nê rūaḥ {לִפְנֵי־ר֑וּחַ | li-p̄nê rūaḥ} ‘before wind’, yielding an image of utter vulnerability. The coordinating conjunction wə- links the parallel simile wə-kəmōṣ {וּ֝כְמֹ֗ץ | wə-kə-mōṣ} ‘and like chaff’ with a dependent clause headed by the verb gənāḇattû {גְּנָבַ֥תּוּ | gə-nā-ḇat-tû} ‘it carries away’, where the pronominal suffix refers back to chaff. The noun sûppāh {סוּפָֽה | sû-pāh} ‘whirlwind’ serves as the agent of removal. This chiastic parallelism amplifies the themes of transience and helplessness, and the English preserves the simile order and relative construction for clarity. |