| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the infinitive construct lishmōrĕkha {לִשְׁמָרְךָ | liš-mō-rə-ḵā} 'to guard you,' indicating the protective purpose of preceding counsel. This is followed by two parallel prepositional phrases: mēʾeshet rāʿ {מֵאֵשֶׁת רָע | mē-ʾê-šet rā‛} 'from an evil woman' and mĕḥeleqet lāšôn nāḵrîyâ {מֵחֶלְקַת לָשׁוֹן נָכְרִיָּה | mĕ-ḥē-le-qet lā-šôn nā-ḵrî-yā} 'from the smoothness of a foreign tongue.' The construct chain ḥēleqet lāšôn unites “smoothness” with “tongue,” forming a Hebrew idiom for seductive speech. The adjective nāḵrîyâ “foreign” intensifies the warning by highlighting outsider status. English rendering preserves the parallel structure and idiomatic nuance by distinguishing between “speech” and “words.” |