| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verb hitrapita {הִתְרַפִּיתָ | hi-ṯra-ppi-ṯā} ‘you have slackened’ functions as a conditional protasis in Hebrew. The phrase beyom tsarah {בְּיוֹם צָרָה | bə-yôm ṣā-rāh} ‘in the day of distress’ establishes the temporal setting. The adjective tsar {צַר | ṣar} ‘narrow’ is fronted to emphasize the limitation upon kokhekha {כֹּחֶֽכָה | kō-ḥe-khā} ‘your strength.’ The Hebrew protasis-apodosis sequence is rendered in English with an “If…then” construction to preserve the causal relationship and rhetorical emphasis. |