| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with veʿattah {וְעַתָּה | wə-ʿat-tāh} ‘and now,’ marking a shift into direct prophecy. The noun ʾemet {אֱמֶת | ʾe-met} ‘truth’ serves as the propositional focus introduced by the Hiphil imperfect ʾaggid {אַגִּיד | ʾag-gîḏ} ‘I will declare.’ The interjection hinneh-ʿod {הִנֵּה־עוֹד | hin-nēh-ʿō-ḏ} ‘behold yet’ signals attention to the succession formula sheloshah melakhim {שְׁלֹשָׁה מְלָכִים | šə-lō-šāh mə-lā-ḵîm} ‘three kings’ and the conjunctive ordinal veharviʿi {וְהָרְבִיעִי | wə-hār-ḇî-ʿî} ‘and the fourth.’ The Qal participle ʿomdim {עֹמְדִים | ʿom-dîm} ‘stand up’ carries a temporal nuance. The wealth clause yaʿashir ʿosher gadol mikkol {יַעֲשִׁיר עֹשֶׁר־גָּדוֹל מִכֹּל | yā-ʿa-šîr ʿō-šer gā-ḏōl mik-kōl} ‘become rich—greater wealth than all’ emphasizes magnitude. The causal phrase ukheḥezkato beʿashro {וּכְחֶזְקָת֣וֹ בְעָשְׁרוֹ | û-kə-ḥez-ka-tō bə-ʿā-šro} ‘according to his strength in his wealth’ explains the basis of his influence, and the Hiphil imperfect yaʿir {יָעִיר | yā-ʿîr} ‘stir up’ takes hakol {הַכֹּל | ha-kkol} ‘everyone’ as object toward malkhut yavan {מַלְכוּת יָוָן | mal-ḵûṯ yā-wān} ‘kingdom of Greece.’ The translation preserves Hebrew word order and prophetic register while clarifying causal and temporal relations. |