לִפְנֵי֙

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 לִפְנֵי֙

   lif-NE

   before
2. clause🔊 הֲלוֹא־ה֗וּא אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֵסִ֤יר חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ אֶת־בָּמֹתָ֣יו וְאֶת־מִזְבְּחֹתָ֔יו וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לִֽיהוּדָה֙ וְלִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם לִפְנֵי֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֣חַ הַזֶּ֔ה תִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֖וּ בִּירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

   ha-lo-HU a-SHER he-SIR khiz-ki-YA-hu et-ba-mo-TAV ve-et-miz-be-kho-TAV va-yo-MER li-ye-hu-DA ve-li-ru-sha-LA-yim lif-NE ha-miz-BE-akh ha-ZE tish-ta-kha-VU bi-ru-sha-LA-yim

   is it not he who removed Hezekiah his high places and his altars and he said to Judah and to Jerusalem before the altar this you shall bow down in Jerusalem
3. sentence🔊 וְכִי־תֹאמְר֣וּן אֵלַ֔י אֶל־יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ בָּטָ֑חְנוּ הֲלוֹא־ה֗וּא אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֵסִ֤יר חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ אֶת־בָּמֹתָ֣יו וְאֶת־מִזְבְּחֹתָ֔יו וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לִֽיהוּדָה֙ וְלִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם לִפְנֵי֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֣חַ הַזֶּ֔ה תִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֖וּ בִּירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

   ve-khi-to-me-RUN e-LAI el-ye-ho-VAH e-lo-HE-nu ba-TAKH-nu ha-lo-HU a-SHER he-SIR khiz-ki-YA-hu et-ba-mo-TAV ve-et-miz-be-kho-TAV va-yo-MER li-ye-hu-DA ve-li-ru-sha-LA-yim lif-NE ha-miz-BE-akh ha-ZE tish-ta-kha-VU bi-ru-sha-LA-yim

   and if you say to me in the LORD our God we have trusted is it not he who removed Hezekiah his high places and his altars and he said to Judah and to Jerusalem before the altar this you shall bow down in Jerusalem

Exegesis

The locative lifnei hamizbeach hazzeh {לִפְנֵי הַמִּזְבֵּ֣חַ הַזֶּ֔ה | lᵉpnê hammizbəʾeaḥ hazzēh} ‘before this altar’ frames the cultic setting, and the hishtaphel imperfect tishtachavu birushalayim {תִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֖וּ בִּירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם | tīštəḥāvēw bîrûšālîm} ‘you shall bow down in Jerusalem’ gives the command. The shift from conditional to rhetorical question to direct command heightens the dispute over asserted trust versus prescribed worship location.