| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse contrasts two parallel clauses in poetic Hebrew. The first clause begins with lev {לֵב | lēb} ‘heart’ and the adjectival predicate sameach {שָׂמֵחַ | sāmēaḥ} ‘joyful’, followed by the Hifil imperfect verb yeitiv {יֵיטִב | yēṭîḇ} ‘makes good’ and its object panim {פָּנִים | pānîm} ‘face’, showing a causative effect from inner feeling to outward appearance. The second clause is introduced by the conjunction u- in the prepositional compound u-בְּעַצְּבַת־לֵב {וּבְעַצְּבַת־לֵב | u-ḇə-ʿaṣ-ṣə-ḇāṯ-lēḇ} ‘and by sorrow of heart’, linking atzvat to lev, and concludes with the Nifal imperfect necheah {נְכֵאָה | ne-ḵēʾāh} ‘is broken’, depicting the inward collapse of ruach {רוּחַ | rūaḥ} ‘spirit’. This chiastic structure underscores how internal joy or sorrow directly shapes both external countenance and inner vitality. |