| 22. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the causative verb haper {הָפֵ֣ר | hâ-pêr} ‘to frustrate’ governing the noun machashavot {מַ֭חֲשָׁבוֹת | maḥ-ă-šā-vōṯ} ‘plans’. The negative condition be’en sod {בְּאֵ֣ין ס֑וֹד | bə-ʾēn sōḏ} ‘in the absence of counsel’ is antithetically paired with the phrase uverov yoatzim {וּבְרֹ֖ב יוֹעֲצִ֣ים | û-bə-rôḇ yō-ʿā-ṣîm} ‘in the abundance of counselors’. The resultant imperfect takum {תָּקֽוּם | tā-qûm} ‘will be established’ completes the parallel contrast between failure and success. The translation preserves this structure by using a conditional “when…” clause followed by a contrasting “but…” clause, maintaining the original cause-and-effect relationship. |