| 32. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with lakhen {לָכֵ֗ן | lā-ḵên} ‘therefore,’ linking it to the preceding oracle. The formula koh {כֹּֽה | kô} amar {אָמַ֤ר | ʾā-mar} Yahweh {יְהוָה֙ | Yə-hō-wāh} ‘thus says the LORD’ introduces the divine decree. The prepositional phrase el melekh Ashur {אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֔וּר | ʾel me-leḵ ʾǎ-šur} ‘to the king of Assyria’ identifies the addressee. A sequence of four parallel negated clauses—lo yavo, ve-lo yoreh, ve-lo yekaddemenah, ve-lo yishpokh—outlines successive siege actions: entering, shooting, approaching with shield, and pouring siege earthwork. Each conjunction ve-lo {וְלֹֽא־ | wə-lō} intensifies the negation. The object suffix on yekaddemenah {יְקַדְּמֶ֣נָּה | yə-qad-de-men-nā} and aleyha {עָלֶ֖יהָ | ʿa-le-hā} anchors the actions to the city. The English rendering preserves the Hebrew paratactic negatives and parallel structure to maintain rhetorical force. |