| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The negative command opens with beoznei {בְּאָזְנֵי | bə-ʾoz-nei} ‘in the ears’, highlighting the act of direct address. The noun kesil {כְּסִיל | ḵĕ-sîl} ‘fool’ functions as the implied audience. The particle al {אַל | ʾal} ‘do not’ paired with the Piel imperfect tedabber {תְּדַבֵּר | tə-dab-bēr} ‘you speak’ frames an ongoing prohibition. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} ‘for’ introduces causation leading to the Qal imperfect yavuz {יָבוּז | yā-vûz} ‘he will despise’. The prepositional phrase lesekel {לְשֵׂכֶל | lə-se-ḵél} ‘for wisdom’ together with the construct millekha {מִלֶּיךָ | mil-le-ḵā} ‘your words’ completes the object of contempt. The Hebrew places the warning before its rationale, a structure mirrored in English to preserve cause-and-effect emphasis. |