| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with gam {גַּ֭ם | gám} ’also’, an additive conjunction linking to the previous context. The Hitpael participle mitrappeh {מִתְרַפֶּ֣ה | mit·rəp·péh} ’one who is slack’ conveys a pattern of self-neglect. The prepositional phrase bi·məl·áḵ·tô {בִמְלַאכְתּ֑וֹ | bə·məl·áḵ·tô} ’in his work’ forms a construct chain specifying the realm of failure. The verbless nominal clause equates the negligent party with the destructive one using ach {אָ֥ח | ʼāḥ} ’brother’ as a metaphor for close association and the pronoun hu {ה֝֗וּא | hûʼ} ’he’ for emphasis. The construct phrase le·va·ʻál ma·šă·ḥîṯ {לְבַ֣עַל מַשְׁחִית | lə·va·ʻál ma·šă·ḥîṯ} ’to a master of destruction’ utilizes baʻal {בַעַל | ba·ʻal} ’master/owner’ and mashchit {מַשְׁחִית | ma·šă·ḥîṯ} from the root š-ḥ-t {שׁ־ח־ת | shin–ḥet–tav} ’to destroy’, yielding a vivid metaphor. The translation preserves the Hebrew nominal and verbless structure, emphasizing the parallel between negligence and ruin. |