| 27. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with yirat {יִרְאַת | yirē‘âṯ} Yahweh {יְהוָה | Yə-hō-wāh} ‘fear of the LORD’, a construct chain marking divine reverence. The Hiphil imperfect tosif {תּוֹסִיף | tô-sîp̄} conveys causative action by the feminine subject, producing an increase of yamim {יָמִים | yā-mîm} ‘days’. The parallel clause u-šnōṯ rᵊ-šā‘îm {וּשְׁנוֹת רְשָׁעִ֣ים | ū-šnō-ṯ rᵊ-šā-ʿîm} ‘and the years of the wicked’ balances the structure, with the Qal imperfect tiqṣōr-nāh {תִּקְצֹרְנָה | tiqṣōr-nāh} indicating a passive reduction. This parallelism highlights the contrast between those who revere the LORD and the wicked. |