| 22. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the negative particle al {אַל־ | ʾal} ‘do not’ combining with the Qal imperfect tomar {תֹּאמַר | tōmâr} ‘you say’ to form a prohibition. A Piel cohortative ʾašalləmāh- {אֲשַׁלְּמָה־ | ʾašalləmāh-} ‘I will repay’ is linked by a maqqef to its object rāʿ {רָע | rāʿ} ‘evil,’ expressing personal vengeance. The Piel imperative qavvēh {קַוֵּה | qavvēh} ‘hope’ governs the prepositional phrase lə-Yəhōwāh {לַֽיְהוָ֗ה | lə-yəhōwāh} ‘in the LORD,’ indicating the proper object of trust. The vav-consecutive wə-yōšaʿ {וְיֹשַׁע | wə-yōšaʿ} ‘and He will save’ with a beneficiary suffix lāḵ {לָֽךְ | lāḵ} ‘to you’ conveys sequential divine action. The contrast between human retribution and divine rescue is preserved in the renderings by a prohibitive clause followed by a hortatory promise, reflecting Hebrew clause parallelism and verb aspect. |