34 GreGOrY T.K. WOnG said”), so also hnh in v. 15 is preceded by a direct quote (the intended words of the psalmist) introduced by ytrma-~a (“if I say”) 60. In fact, given the somewhat odd phrasing of v. 15, where the direct quote does not really disclose the content of the psalmist’s intended words but simply repeats his desire to recount, one suspects that v. 15 may have been so constructed specifically for the purpose of establishing a structural parallel with v. 12. In this way, to make up for the absence of $a or yk to introduce the new section comprising vv. 16-17, atten- tion will be drawn to hnh as a marker for the end of the preceding section comprising vv. 13-15 61. There is further support for separating vv. 16-17 from vv. 13-15 to serve as the turning point. While v. 17 ends with ~tyrxa (“their end”), with the third person suffix anticipating the shift in focus onto the wicked in vv. 18-20, v. 16 begins with a declaration that the psalmist had sought to understand taz (“this”), a reference not so much to what immediately precedes in v. 15, but most naturally to the apparent pros- perity of the wicked spoken of in vv. 4-12. since the apparent pros- perity of the wicked lies at the heart of the psalmist’s struggle, and new insight into their final destiny provides the key to renewed faith, one can say that the taz in v. 16, which points back to the heart of the problem, and the ~tyrxa in v. 17, which anticipates its resolution, in effect turns vv. 16-17 into a hinge that bridges the sections that pre- cede and follow. To the extent that the issue concerning the prosperity of the wicked is first introduced in v. 3, while insight concerning their destiny is finally summarised in v. 27, one can say further that even content-wise the turning point that comprises vv. 16-17 is intricately linked with the introductory and concluding sections of the psalm. 3. Corresponding Parallel Sections According to Douglas, a key requirement of a ring composition is the arrangement of the remaining sections chiastically across the di- viding line on either side of the turning point, so that the section on one side of the turning point is matched by a corresponding section on 60 One could argue for a further parallel between vv. 9-12 and vv. 13-15 in that the direct quotes in v. 11 and v. 15 both seem to flow from what immediately precedes in their respective contexts. For while the wmk (“like this”) in v. 15 most likely points back to the psalmist’s complaint in vv. 13-14, the words of the wicked quoted in v. 11 are likely an illustration of how, according to v. 9a, they “set their mouth against heaven”. 61 In this, I disagree with GIrArD, Les Psaumes, 291-292, who asserts that the section comprising vv. 13-17 lacks any internal architecture.