| 1. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the subject hashamayim {הַשָּׁמַיִם | haš-šā-ma-yim} ‘the heavens’, followed by the Piel participle mesaprim {מְסַפְּרִים | mə-sap-pə-rîm} ‘are telling’, which conveys ongoing revelation. The construct chain kevod {כְּבוֹד | kə-ḇōḏ} ‘glory’ + el {אֵל | ʾēl} ‘God’ emphasizes that the heavens manifest divine honor. In parallel, the conjunction umaaseh {וּמַעֲשֵׂה | û-ma-ʿă-śê} ‘and the work’ with the pronominal suffix yadav {יָדָיו | yā-ḏāw} ‘of His hands’ pairs with the Hifil participle maggid {מַגִּיד | mag-gîḏ} ‘is making known’, followed by the subject harakia {הָרָקִיעַ | hā-rā-qî-ʿa} ‘the expanse’. The Hebrew poetic parallelism of two cosmic witnesses (‘heavens’, ‘expanse’) and two verbs (‘tell’, ‘declare’) underscores the continual proclamation of divine creative power. The English rendering mirrors this balance. |