| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs two parallel independent clauses introduced by construct-state nouns and perfect verbs. In the first clause, chelbamo sagru {חֶלְבָּמוֹ סָּגְרוּ | ḥelbāmô sāgrū} literally “their fat they have closed,” the construct noun chelbamo {חֶלְבָּמוֹ | ḥelbāmô} is fronted to emphasize internal hardness and the Qal perfect sagru {סָּגְרוּ | sāgrū} denotes completed action. The second clause, pimo dibru begeut {פִּימוֹ דִּבְּרוּ בְגֵאֽוּת | pîmô dîbberû bə-gē’ûṯ} “their mouth they have spoken with arrogance,” mirrors this pattern to highlight external expression. The prepositional phrase begeut {בְגֵאֽוּת | bə-gē’ûṯ} functions as an adverbial of manner specifying proud speech. The idiomatic use of “fat” conveys emotional insulation, and the Piel verb dibru {דִּבְּרוּ | dîbberû} intensifies the act of speaking, together underscoring moral insensitivity in both thought and word. |