Psa 81:13 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 13. O that my people had hearkened unto me,-Israel had walked in my ways ] Nothing can be more plaintive than the original; sense and sound are surprisingly united. I scruple not to say to him who understands the Hebrew, however learned, he has never found in any poet, Greek or Latin, a finer example of deep-seated grief, unable to express itself in appropriate words without frequent interruptions of sighs and sobs, terminated with a mournful cry. Lo ammi shomea li Yishrael bidrachi yehallechu! He who can give the proper guttural pronunciation to the letter ain ; and gives the vau , and the yod , their full Asiatic sound, not pinching them to death by a compressed and worthless European enunciation; will at once be convinced of the propriety of this remark.

‏ Psalms 81:13

Verse 13. O that my people had hearkened unto me,-Israel had walked in my ways] Nothing can be more plaintive than the original; sense and sound are surprisingly united. I scruple not to say to him who understands the Hebrew, however learned, he has never found in any poet, Greek or Latin, a finer example of deep-seated grief, unable to express itself in appropriate words without frequent interruptions of sighs and sobs, terminated with a mournful cry.

Lo ammi shomea li

Yishrael bidrachi yehallechu!

He who can give the proper guttural pronunciation to the letter ain; and gives the vau, and the yod, their full Asiatic sound, not pinching them to death by a compressed and worthless European enunciation; will at once be convinced of the propriety of this remark.