Overview

Grammatical Diagram

Of the two synonymous niphal participles (נִבְזֶה and נִמְאָס), it is not immediately clear which is the subject and which is the predicate. The MT accents, which place a pause between נִבְזֶ֤ה׀ and בְּֽעֵ֘ינָ֤יו נִמְאָ֗ס seem to suggest reading נִבְזֶה as a fronted subject and נִמְאָס as part of the predicate ("that which is despised is hated in his eyes").^[1] Baethgen argues that נִבְזֶה is the predicate on the basis that נִמְאָס "stands in parallel with the following יראי יהוה and the predicate (נִבְזֶה) in parallel with יכבד. The word order is therefore chiastic.^[2] See 1 Sam. 2:30 for an example of כבד and בזה in parallel.