Psalm 16/Notes/Grammar.v. 3.454372

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  • Many modern European translations analyze the grammar as it is presented in the v. 3 alternative 1 diagram. This grammatical analysis results in the following translation: "As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight" (ESV, cf. the many similar translations given on our exegetical issue page). The biggest problem with this interpretation is that it does not account for the waw conjunction on וְאַדִּירֵי ("and the excellent ones"). Proponents of this view often argue (or assume) that the waw should be deleted. Another problem with this view is that it rests on the questionable claim that a lamed prepositional phrase can introduce a left-dislocated subject. See The Text and Grammar of Psalm16:3 for a detailed discussion.