Verses 27–36 ask how a tribal dispute should be judged. The poet begins by praising a just king and inviting a formal statement of the case. He then compares the consequences of reopening history, close inquiry, silence and refusal. Finally, remembered raids and journeys lend historical force to his side of the dispute.
The section’s power lies in its varied imagery: ijlāʾ, muqsiṭ, tushfā, nabashtum, naqashtum, al-aqdhāʾ and ʿuwāʾ. Military authority, healing, excavation, irritation and noise are combined into a single argument. The next verse shifts toward a further account of power and domination.