| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse presents a three-part parallelism with coordinated participles. holekh {הוֹלֵךְ | hô-lêk} ‘one who walks’ with tamim {תָּמִים | tā-mîm} ‘blameless’ sets the moral stance; upoel {וּפֹעֵל | ū-pō-ʿēl} ‘does’ with tsedeq {צֶדֶק | ṣē-ḏeq} ‘righteousness’ specifies right action; vedover {וְדֹבֵר | wə-ḏō-wēr} ‘speaks’ with emet {אֱמֶת | ʾĕ-meṯ} ‘truth’ underscores honest speech. The construct phrase bilbavo {בִּלְבָבוֹ | bil-bā-vō} ‘in his heart’ locates these qualities in inner disposition. Hebrew participles convey iterative aspect, rendered here as present-tense verbs to preserve ongoing character. |