| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vocative beni {בְּנִי | bə-nî} ‘my son’, establishing a direct parental exhortation. The conditional particle im {אִם | ʾim} introduces a protasis framed as a hypothetical warning, and the clause yepatukha {יְפַתּוּךָ | yə-pat-tû-ḵā} in Piel imperfect conveys ongoing persuasion by the plural subject chattaʾîm {חַטָּאִים | ḥaṭ-ṭā-ʾîm}. The negative particle al {אַל | ʾal} marks a prohibition regulating the following Qal imperfect tovēʾ {תֹּבֵא | tō-wē-ʾ}, which functions with imperative force ‘do not consent’. This protasis–apodosis structure with its direct address underscores the immediacy and decisiveness of the warning against communal temptation. |