| 28. Linguistic Exegesis The verse presents antithetical parallelism. The first line has lev {לֵב | lēḇ} ‘heart’ as subject with tsaddiq {צַדִּיק | ṣaddîq} ‘righteous’, followed by the Qal imperfect yehgeh {יֶהְגֶּה | yeheggê} ‘meditates’ and the infinitive la'anot {לַעֲנוֹת | laʿănōṯ} ‘to answer’ indicating purpose. The second line begins with ufi {וּפִי | ū-pî} ‘mouth of’ modified by resha'im {רְשָׁעִים | rǝšāʿîm} ‘wicked’, then the Hiphil imperfect yabbi'a {יַבִּיעַ | yabbîaʿ} ‘pours out’ with object ra'ot {רָעוֹת | rāʿōṯ} ‘evil things’. The coordinating vav marks contrast between reflective restraint and unrestrained speech. |