| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the causal conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} ‘for/because,’ framing the Psalmist’s explanation of distress. The Piel perfect sababuni {סְבָבוּנִי | sə-ḇā-ḇû-nî} and the Hiphil perfect hiqipuni {הִקִּיפוּנִי | hiq-qî-pū-nî} bracket the hostile actions with intensified verbal stems. The construct chain ʿadat mereim {עֲדַת מְרֵעִים | ʿă-daṯ mə-rē-ʿîm} ‘assembly of evildoers’ portrays collective antagonism. The similes kelabbim {כְּלַבִּים | kə-lab-bîm} and kaari {כָּאֲרִי | ka-ʾa-rî} heighten the imagery of contempt and threat. Although some ancient witnesses (Dead Sea Scrolls, LXX) read karu {כָּרוּ | ka-rû} ‘they pierced,’ the Masoretic Text’s kaari is retained as a simile, linking the violence to yaday wə-rag-lāy {יָדַי וְרַגְלָי | yā-ḏāy wə-rag-lāy}. |