| 25. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb opens with the existential particle yesh {יֵשׁ | yēš} presenting a general observation. The nominal clause derekh yashar {דֶּרֶךְ יָשָׁר | de-reḵ yā-šār} ‘upright way’ is modified by the prepositional phrase lifnei ish {לִפְנֵי־אִישׁ | li-p̄nê ʾîš} indicating human perspective. The adversative conjunction ve-acharitah {וְאַחֲרִיתָהּ | wə-ʾaḥă-rî-ṯā(h)} introduces contrast, followed by the construct chain darkhei mavet {דַּרְכֵי־מָוֶת | dăr-kê mā-weṯ} which intensifies the fatal outcome. This antithetic parallelism highlights the discrepancy between perceived righteousness and actual consequence. The translation maintains the existential introduction and adversative structure to convey the proverb’s cautionary force. |