| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse uses a qal va-khomer logical progression to contrast a lesser case with a greater one. The negative particle lo {לֹא | lōʾ} ‘not’ combined with the adjective na'ah {נָאוָ֣ה | nāʾ-wā(h)} ‘fitting’ forms the first clause about lenaval {לְנָבָ֣ל | lə-nā-ḇāl} ‘for a fool’. The construct phrase sefat-yeter {שְׂפַת־יֶ֑תֶר | śă-p̄at-yĕ-ṯe-r} ‘lip of surplus’ conveys “impressive speech.” The adversative af {אַ֝֗ף | ’ăp̄} ‘even’ intensifies the pivot marked by ki {כִּֽי־ | kî} ‘for/but’, introducing the greater case. The parallel sefat-sheqer {שְׂפַת־שָֽׁקֶר׃ | śă-p̄at-šā-qer} ‘lip of falsehood’ applied to lenadiv {לְנָדִ֥יב | lə-nā-ḏîḇ} ‘for a noble’ mirrors the first clause. This repetition of sefat- in a construct chain highlights the moral incongruity between a fool’s elevated speech and a noble’s deceit. The Hebrew reliance on the maqqef signals tight lexical coupling and parallelism, which the English rendering preserves through parallel phrasing. |