| 21. Linguistic Exegesis This proverb features antithetical parallelism with two balanced clauses. The first clause presents siftei {שִׂפְתֵי | śip̄ṯêy} ‘lips of’ plus tsaddiq {צַדִּיק | ṣaddîq} ‘righteous one’ as subject, followed by the Qal imperfect yir'u {יִרְעוּ | yirʿû} ‘they feed’ and its object rabbîm {רַבִּים | rabbîm} ‘many’. The second clause begins with the adversative we'evilim {וֶאֱוִילִים | wə-ʾêwîlîm} ‘and fools’, continues with the causal phrase bachasar-lev {בַּחֲסַר־לֵב | baḥăṣār-lēḇ} ‘for lack of heart’, and concludes with yāmûtū {יָמֽוּתוּ | yāmûtū} ‘they die’. The metonymy of “lips” underscores the power of righteous speech, while “heart” denotes inner wisdom. The antithesis highlights the life-giving effect of righteous words versus the peril of cognitive deficiency. |