| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb begins with ed {עֵד | ʿêd} ‘witness’ modified by emunim {אֱמוּנִים | ʾĕ-mu-nîm} ‘faithful,’ forming a nominal clause. The negator lo {לֹא | lō} ‘not’ precedes the Piel imperfect yekhazzev {יְכַזֵּב | yə-khaz-zêv} ‘lie,’ asserting a full denial. The vav-prefixed Hiphil ve-yafiakh {וְיָפִיחַ | wə-yā-pî-aḥ} ‘and-he-speaks’ intensifies the act of expelling falsehoods (kezavim {כְּזָבִים | kə-zā-ḇîm} ‘lies’) before the concluding parallel ed shaker {עֵד שָׁקֶר | ʿêd šā-qer} ‘false witness,’ reinforcing the ethical contrast by chiastic parallelism. |