| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive Qal imperfect vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | wayyōmer} ‘and he said’, which introduces direct discourse. The subject David {דָּוִד | dāwîḏ} identifies the speaker, followed by a locative prepositional phrase lekhol avadav asher itto birushalayim {לְכָל־עֲבָדָיו אֲשֶׁר־אִתּוֹ בִירוּשָׁלַיִם | lə-kōl ’ă-ḇā-ḏāw ’ă-šer ’it-tô bî-rū-šā-la-yim} specifying the audience in Jerusalem. The sequence of the imperative kumu {קוּמוּ | kū-mū} ‘arise’ and the Niphal cohortative venivrachah {וְנִבְרָחָה | wə-nib-rā-ḥā} ‘let us flee’ escalates urgency through collective action. A negative prediction is formed by the clause ki lo tihyeh lanu peleitah {כִּי לֹא־תִהְיֶה־לָּנוּ פְּלֵיטָה | kî lō tiḥ-yêh lā-nū pel-lê-ṭā}, limiting the possibility of escape. The cautionary conjunction pen {פֶּן | pen} with sequential verbs yemaher {יְמַהֵר | yə-ma-hêr} ‘he will hasten’ and vehisiganu {וְהִשִּׂיגָנוּ | wə-hi-ssî-gā-nū} ‘and overtake us’ sets up potential consequences. The Hifil vehidi’ach {וְהִדִּיחַ | wə-hid-dî-aḥ} ‘bring upon us’ with et-hara’ah {אֶת־הָרָעָה | ’et-hā-rā-‘āh} ‘the disaster’ denotes causation, and the Hifil vehikah {וְהִכָּה | wə-hiq-qā} ‘strike’ with the construct lefi-charev {לְפִי־חָרֶב | lə-p̄î-ḥā-reḇ} employs an idiom “edge of the sword.” The English translation maintains the Hebrew’s sequential and syntactic flow by aligning imperatives, cohortative, and causative forms, preserving the cautionary tone and vivid imagery of impending calamity. |