| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the subject phrase ish-ohev chokhmah {אִֽישׁ־אֹהֵ֣ב חָ֭כְמָה | ʾîš-ʾōhēḇ ḥāḵ·māh}, combining a noun and Qal participle to denote continuous disposition. The verb yesammakh {יְשַׂמַּ֣ח | yə-sammāḥ} is a Piel imperfect third person masculine singular governing the pronominal suffix of aviv {אָבִ֑יו | ʾā-vîw} ‘his father’ to express causation. The adversative conjunction ve {וְ | wə} introduces the antithetic clause, in which roeh zonot {רֹעֶה ז֝וֹנ֗וֹת | rō·ʿê zō·nōṯ} uses a Qal participle with a plural noun to describe ongoing association. The Piel imperfect yeabbed-hon {יְאַבֶּד־הֽוֹן | yə-ʾab-bēḏ-hôn} conveys a future destructive outcome for wealth. This parallelism and antithesis are rendered in English SVO order to maintain rhetorical balance. |