| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prepositional phrase bisfatav {בִּ֭שְׂפָתָיו | bĭš-p̄ā-tāw} ‘with his lips’, indicating the instrumental means. The verb yinnaker {יִנָּכֵ֣ר | yinnāḵēr} in the Nifal imperfect expresses a reflexive action of concealing. The participle sone {שׂוֹנֵ֑א | sōnēʼ} ‘hater’ serves as the subject, and its postverbal position emphasizes the underlying attitude. The conjunction u-vəqirbo {וּ֝בְקִרְבּ֗וֹ | u-və-qir-bô} introduces adversative contrast ‘but within him’. The imperfect yashit {יָשִׁ֥ית | yāšīt} ‘he sets’ together with the noun mirmah {מִרְמָֽה | mirmāh} ‘deceit’ forms the predicate that highlights hidden treachery. The parallelism between external expression and internal intent, along with the asyndetic structure, underscores the theme of duplicity. |