| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the construct chain orach chayyim {אֹרַח חַיִּים | ʾō-raḥ ḥay-yîm} ‘path of life’, where orach governs chayyim. The directional preposition lemaʿalāh {לְמַעְלָה | lə-maʿalāh} emphasizes ascent and is followed by the benefactive le-maškîl {לְמַשְׂכִּיל | lə-maš-kîl} ‘for the discerning’. The purpose clause le-maʿan sûr {לְמַעַן סוּר | lə-maʿan sûr} ‘in order that he may turn aside’ connects to the spatial phrase mi-šôʾōl maṭṭāh {מִשְּׁא֥וֹל מָֽטָּה | mî-šô-ʾōl maṭ-ṭāh} ‘from Sheol downward’, creating a vertical contrast between ascent and descent that the translation preserves through syntactic order and imagery. |