| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the compound ki-neder {כִּי־נֵ֙דֶר֙ | kî-nēder} introducing a causal explanation and creating a solemn noun-verb echo with nādar {נָדַ֣ר | nādar}. The term ʿavdeḵa {עַבְדְּךָ֔ | ʿavdeḵa} signals humble self-reference, while the prepositional chain bə-šivtî {בְּשִׁבְתִּ֥י | bə-šivtî}, bigšūr {בִגְשׁ֛וּר | bigšūr}, and ba-ʾăram {בַּאֲרָ֖ם | ba-ʾăram} situates the vow in geographic exile. The infinitive construct lēʾmôr {לֵאמֹ֑ר | lēʾmôr} ‘to say’ introduces direct discourse that hinges on the fused conditional ʾim-yeśîḇ {אִם־ישיב | ʾim-yeśîḇ} and the Qere yāšôv {יָשׁ֨וֹב | yāšôv} ‘he returns,’ followed by the causative Hiphil yəšībênî {יְשִׁיבֵ֤נִי | yəšībênî} ‘he restores me.’ The repeated divine name Yahweh {יְהוָה֙ | Yahweh} frames both petition and pledge, and the vav-consecutive wə-ʿāvaḏtî {וְעָבַדְתִּ֖י | wə-ʿāvaḏtî} ‘and I will serve’ projects future commitment, with the direct object marker ʾet-Yahweh {אֶת־יְהוָֽה׃ | ʾet-Yahweh} marking God as the recipient of service. The English rendering preserves this cause-result and conditional sequence. |