| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The verse presents a bipartite directive, opening with the prohibitive particle al {אַל | ʾal} ‘do not’ combined with yeqannēʾ {יְקַנֵּא | yeqannēʾ} ‘let envy’ to address libbĕkā {לִבְּךָ | libbĕkā} ‘your heart’, understood as the locus of inward inclination. The prepositional phrase ba-ḥaṭṭāʾīm {בַּחַטָּאִים | ba-ḥaṭṭāʾīm} ‘in sinners’ defines the moral focus without specifying individuals. The exclusive adversative kî ʾim {כִּי אִם־ | kî ʾim} ‘but rather’ transitions to bĕ-yirʾat-Yəhōwāh {בְּיִרְאַת־יְ֝הוָ֗ה | bĕ-yirʾat-Yəhōwāh} ‘in the fear of Yahweh’, where yirah conveys enduring reverence. The temporal modifier kol-hayyôm {כָּל־הַיּוֹם | kol-hayyôm} ‘all the day’ indicates continuous practice. English rendering mirrors the Hebrew contrast by first negating one orientation and then prescribing a singular, sustained posture. |