| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the perfect verb ra’ita {רָאִ֗יתָ | rā’îtā} ‘have you seen’, initiating a direct rhetorical question. The noun phrase ish chakam {אִ֭ישׁ חָכָ֣ם | ’îš ḥā-kām} ‘a wise man’ is defined by the prepositional phrase be-einav {בְּעֵינָ֑יו | bə-‘êynāyw} ‘in his own eyes’, indicating self-perceived judgment. The second clause lacks an explicit verb; tikvah {תִּקְוָ֖ה | ṯî-qə-wāh} ‘hope’ functions as an implied subject in a comparative structure introduced by lə-kə-sîl {לִכְסִ֣יל | lə-kə-sîl} ‘for a fool’ and modified by mimmēnû {מִמֶּֽנּוּ | mimmēnû} ‘than him’. This elliptical construction heightens the contrast between the overconfident and the inherently hopeful fool. The insertion of “more” in English mirrors the Hebrew comparative intensity and preserves the balance of parallelism. |