| 25. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the piel imperative takkeh {תַּכֶּה | tak-keh} ‘strike’ directly addressing the scoffer (lets {לֵץ | lêṣ}). The vav conjunction u-petî {וּפֶתִי | u-pə-tî} links the first result, with the hiphil imperfect ya‘rîm {יַעְרִם | ya-ʽ-rîm} indicating that the simple one acquires shrewdness. The second clause mirrors this pattern: the piel imperative wə-hôkîaḥ {וְהוֹכִיחַ | wə-hô-kî-aḥ} ‘reprove’ addresses the discerning (navon {נָבוֹן | nā-vōn}), and the hiphil imperfect yā-vîn {יָבִין | yā-vîn} ‘he will discern’ presents the resulting knowledge (dā-ʽaṯ {דָּעַת | dā-ʽaṯ}). This parallelism highlights how discipline transforms both the simple and the discerning. |