| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The psalmist constructs a tripartite parallelism with the negation particle lo {לֹא־ | lō} ‘not’ initiating each clause to underscore moral boundaries. In the first clause, ragal {רָגַ֨ל | ra-ḡal} ‘he slandered’ combines with the instrument leshono {לְשֹׁנ֗וֹ | lə-šō-nō} ‘his tongue’, highlighting defamation by speech. The second clause employs asah {עָשָׂ֣ה | ʿā-sāh} ‘he did’ with the object lerei'ehu {לְרֵעֵ֣הוּ | lə-rē-ʿē-hū} ‘to his neighbor’ and the noun raah {רָעָ֑ה | rā-‘āh} ‘evil’, prohibiting harmful action. The third clause uses ve {וְ־ | wə-} ‘and’ plus cherpah {חֶרְפָּה | ḥer-pāh} ‘reproach’ and nasa {נָשָׂ֥א | nā-sāʾ} ‘he carried’ with al {עַל־ | ʿal} ‘upon’ and kerovo {קְרֹֽבוֹ | qə-rō-ḇō} ‘his close one’, an idiom for spreading shame. The repeated perfect forms coupled with lo deliver a rhythmic insistence on integrity. English renderings preserve the Hebrew sequence and idiomatic sense by using present-tense prohibitions and equivalent expressions. |