This question bothers me each time the High Holidays come around. In the text for Unetaneh Tokef, we find the sequence:
מִי יָנוּחַ, וּמִי יָנוּעַ; מִי יִשָּׁקֵט, וּמִי יְטֹּרֵף; מִי יִשָּׁלֵו, וּמִי יִתְיַסָּר; מִי יַעֲנִי, וּמִי יַעֲשִׁיר; מִי יֻשְׁפַּל, וּמִי יָרוּם
(I have added punctuation to clarify my question.) In this sequence, we have 5 pairs. If the first 3 pairs, we have a positive quality followed by a negative one, but in the last 2 pairs the text suddenly switches and puts the negative quality first. Any suggestions as to why?