| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with amarta {אָמַ֣רְתְּ | ʾā·mart} as an introductory verb of address, followed by the prepositional phrase laYHWH {לַֽיהוָה | la·Yəhō·wāh} and the appositional Adonai {אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾă·dō·nāy}, forming a direct divine address. The verbless clause tovati balalekha {ט֝וֹבָתִ֗י בַּל־עָלֶֽיךָ | ṭō·ḇā·tî bāl·ʿā·le·ḵā} employs the negative particle bal to express absolute exclusion of the psalmist’s goodness from divine merit. These elements create antithetic parallelism between divine lordship and the psalmist’s complete dependence, preserved by maintaining Hebrew word order and emphasis. |