| 19. Linguistic Exegesis The verse features parallel prohibitions introduced by the negative particle al {אַל | ʾǎl} ‘do not’. The first clause employs the reflexive Hitpael imperfect titchar {תִּתְחַ֥ר | tiṯ-ḥǎr} ‘become heated’, followed by the prepositional phrase ba-mə-rē-ʿîm {בַּמְּרֵעִים | ba-mə-rē-ʿîm} ‘at the evildoers’, where the plural participle functions substantively. The second clause mirrors this structure with the Piel imperfect teqanne {תְּקַנֵּ֗א | tə-qan-nē} ‘be envious’ and the prepositional phrase bār-šā-ʿîm {בָּרְשָׁעִים | bār-šā-ʿîm} ‘at the wicked ones’. This chiastic parallelism intensifies the warning by juxtaposing inward agitation and outward envy toward immoral actors, and the English translation preserves the repeated “do not” and corresponding prepositions to reflect the Hebrew’s rhetorical balance. |