| 3. Linguistic Exegesis This verse presents a deliberate poetic parallelism with ein {אֵין־ | ʾên} ‘there is not’ and ve-ein {וְאֵין | wə-ʾên} ‘and there is not,’ establishing the contrast between omer {אֹמֶר | ʾō-mer} ‘speech’ and devarim {דְּבָרִים | də-ḇā-rîm} ‘words.’ The preposition beli {בְּלִי | bə-lî} ‘without’ plus the Nifal imperfect nishma {נִשְׁמָע | niš-māʿ} ‘it is heard’ forms a circumstantial clause indicating absence of audible speech. The construct noun kolam {קוֹלָם | qō-lām} ‘their voice’ is the semantic focus, linking back to creation’s testimony in Psalm 19:1. Hebrew word order foregrounds negation for emphasis, while the English renditions smooth the parallelism and preserve the contrast between silence and ubiquitous proclamation. |