| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the Hiphil perfect verb heez {הֵעֵ֬ז | hēʾez} ‘he hardened’, marking decisive defiance by the subject rasha {רָשָׁ֣ע | rāšāʿ} ‘wicked person’. The idiom befanav {בְּפָנָ֑יו | bə-p̄ā-nāw} ‘in his presence’ conveys a confrontational expression. The conjunction veyashar {וְ֝יָשָׁ֗ר | wə-yā-šār} ‘but the upright’ introduces contrastive parallelism, with the pronoun hu {ה֤וּא | hūʾ} ‘he’ adding emphasis. The Qal imperfect yāḵîn {יכין | yāḵîn} ‘he establishes’ indicates deliberate preparation, while the Hifil imperfect yā-vîn {יָבִ֬ין | yā-vîn} ‘he discerns’ reflects analytical insight. The construct pair darkav {דרכיו | da-rə-ḵāw} ‘his ways’ (plural) and darko {דַּרְכּֽוֹ | da-rək-kô} ‘his way’ (singular) highlights both general conduct and specific path. Hebrew parallelism underscores the contrast between external defiance and internal prudence. |