| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the quantifier phrase kol ro’î {כָּל־רֹאָי | kol rō-’î} ‘all who see me’, which functions as the subject. It is followed by the Qal imperfect yal‘îgû {יַלְעִגוּ | yal-‘î-gû} ‘mock’, taking the object lî {לִי | lî} ‘to me’. The Hiphil imperfect verbs yafṭîrû {יַפְטִירוּ | yaf-ṭî-rû} ‘open wide’ and yānî‘û {יָנִעוּ | yān-î-‘û} ‘shake’ govern the metonymic lip (bə-sāp̄ā-h {בְּשָׂפָה | bə-sāp̄ā-h} ‘lip’) and head (rōš {רֹאשׁ | rōš} ‘head’) respectively, depicting a progression from verbal to physical derision. The sequence of Qal and Hiphil verbs intensifies the mockery, and in translation the causative Hiphil sense is conveyed with active English verbs while smoothing the word order for readability. |