| 11. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the Piel imperative chakam {חֲכַם | ḥă-khăm} ‘be wise’ directly addressing beni {בְּנִי | bə-nî} ‘my son’. The conjunction wə (vav) links to the next Piel imperative vesamach {וְשַׂמַּח | wə-sam-măḥ} ‘make glad’. A purpose clause is then introduced by the Qal cohortative veashivah {וְאָשִׁיבָה | wə-’ā-šî-ḇâ} ‘and I may return’, leading into the object construct chorpi davar {חֹרְפִי דָּבָר | ḥôr-pî dā-ḇār} ‘my reproach word’. The shift from Hebrew’s VSO order to English SVO emphasizes the father’s joy as enabling response. The use of the cohortative conveys the speaker’s intention contingent upon the son’s obedience. |