| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The prepositional phrase bepesha {בְּפֶ֣שַׁע | bə-pê-šāʿ} ‘transgression’ frames the cause of mokesh {מוֹקֵ֣שׁ | mō-ḳêš} ‘snare’ in a circumstantial clause. The construct sefatayim {שְׂ֭פָתַיִם | sə-pā-ṭā-yim} ‘lips’ specifies the instrument. The subject ra {רָ֑ע | rāʿ} ‘wicked’ follows, marking those ensnared. The vav-consecutive in vayetse {וַיֵּצֵ֖א | way-yê-ṣēʾ} ‘and he goes out’ shifts to deliverance, introducing tsaddiq {צַדִּֽיק | ṣaddîq} ‘righteous one’, with mitzarah {מִצָּרָ֣ה | mits-zā-rāh} ‘from distress’ indicating source. This chiasm contrasts entrapment by speech with escape from adversity, and the adversative ‘but’ in English preserves the pivot while verb-first order in the second clause emphasizes deliverance. |