| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the verb asapper {אֲסַפֵּר | ʾă-sap-pēr} ‘I will recount’, framing a deliberate statement of suffering. The construct kol-atzmotay {כָּל־עַצְמוֹתָי | kôl-ʿaṣ-mō-ṯāy} ‘all my bones’ underscores total bodily exposure. The pronoun hemmah {הֵמָּה | hē-māh} ‘they’ shifts focus to the onlookers. The Hiphil imperfect yabbitu {יַבִּיטוּ | yab-bî-ṭû} ‘they look’ introduces an active gaze, which is further intensified by the Qal imperfect yir'uvi {יִרְאוּ־בִי | yir-ʾu-vî} ‘they see me’. This parallelism of imperfect verbs emphasizes ongoing scrutiny and heightens the sense of vulnerability. |