| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with yihi {יְהִי | yiḥî} ‘let it be,’ a Qal jussive expressing humble petition. The parallel constructs ʾimrê-pî {אִמְרֵי־פִי | ʾimrê-pî} ‘words of my mouth’ and hêgîyôn {הֶגְיוֹן | hêgîyôn} ‘meditation’ lî-bî {לִבִּי | lî-bî} ‘of my heart’ juxtapose external speech and internal reflection. The prepositional phrase lᵊ-pānê-khā {לְפָנֶיךָ | lᵊ-pānê-khā} ‘before you’ directly addresses Yahweh {יְהוָה | Yə-hō-wāh}, anchoring the petition in divine presence. The vav conjunction in wᵊ-gōʾālî {וְגֹאֲלִי | wᵊ-gōʾālî} links ‘my Redeemer’ to ṣûrî {צוּרִי | ṣûrî} ‘my Rock,’ framing both metaphors as aspects of divine refuge. The fronted jussive clause foregrounds the psalmist’s desire that both word and thought be devoted wholly to God. |