| 8. Linguistic Exegesis gol {גֹּל | gōl} ‘roll’ functions idiomatically as an imperative to shift responsibility onto God, establishing a mocking challenge. It is followed by two coordinated imperfect commands yefaltehu {יְפַלְּטֵהוּ | yə-pal-ṭē-hû} ‘let Him deliver him’ and yatsilehu {יַצִּילֵהוּ | ya-ṣṣî-lê-hû} ‘let Him rescue him’ in Piel and Hiphil stems, highlighting active divine deliverance and rescue. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} ‘because’ introduces the explanatory clause chafetz bo {חָפֵץ בּוֹ | ḥā-phēṣ bō} ‘He delights in him,’ where the Qal perfect indicates definitive divine pleasure. The parallelism between “deliver” and “rescue” intensifies the taunt against the sufferer. |