| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the Hiphil participle maskil {מַשְׂכִּ֣יל | māš·kîl} ‘one who considers wisely’ modified by the adjective tsaddiq {צַ֭דִּיק | ṣaddîq} ‘righteous,’ establishing a deliberate agent. The construct phrase leveit rasha {לְבֵ֣ית רָשָׁ֑ע | lə-ḇêyt rā·šāʿ} ‘the house of the wicked’ uses the preposition lamed to mark relation and a construct chain for possession. In the second clause, the Piel participle mesallef {מְסַלֵּ֖ף | mə-sal-lêf} ‘he overturns’ takes the plural absolute reshaim {רְשָׁעִ֣ים | rĕ-šaʿ-îm} ‘wicked ones’ as its object and lara {לָרָֽע | lā-rāʿ} marks the result ‘to ruin.’ The parallelism between deliberate consideration in the first clause and decisive action in the second underscores the outcome of moral discernment: divine justice enacted upon the wicked. |