| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the predicate nominal maoz {מָע֣וֹז | ma‛ôz} ‘stronghold’ followed by the prepositional recipient latom {לַ֭תֹּם | la-tôm} ‘for the blameless’. The focal subject derekh Yahweh {דֶּ֣רֶךְ יְהוָ֑ה | de-reḵ Yə-hō-wāh} ‘way of the LORD’ appears in construct to denote divine possession. The waw-conjunction introduces the antithetic parallelism with umekhittah {וּ֝מְחִתָּ֗ה | û-me-ḥî-ṭâh} ‘destruction’ balancing maoz, and the second recipient phrase lefo’alei aven {לְפֹ֣עֲלֵי אָֽוֶן | lə-pō-‘ă-lê ’ā-wên} ‘for those who practice evil’ mirroring latom. The construct chain and parallel prepositional phrases create a symmetrical structure that emphasizes the divergent outcomes of following the LORD’s way versus engaging in evil. English renders the subject before the predicate to maintain clarity while preserving the Hebrew poetic parallelism. |