| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs a chiastic parallelism centered on the pronouns hemah {הֵמָּה | hêmmāh} ‘they’ and va-anachnu {וַאֲנַחְנוּ | waʾănāḥnû} ‘but we’, each governing a pair of verbs. The Qal perfect karu {כָּרְעוּ | kārʿû} ‘have bowed down’ and ve-nafalu {וְנָפָלוּ | wə-nāfalû} ‘have fallen’ depict completed declines, while the Qal perfect kamnu {קַּמְנוּ | qāmnû} ‘have risen’ and the Hitpael imperfect va-nitodad {וַנִּתְעֹדָד | wanitʿōdād} ‘stand firm’ narrate a contrasting ascent and stabilization. The use of the waw-consecutive perfects propels the sequence, and the energic nun in the Hitpael imperfect intensifies the perseverance conveyed. The translation maintains the perfect aspect for the concluded actions and renders the Hitpael imperfect to communicate an ongoing firm standing. |