| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prophetic speech formula koh amar {כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ | kō ʾā-mar} ‘thus he says’, introducing a divine oracle. The compound title Adonai Yahweh {אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה | ʾă-ḏō-nāy Yə-hō-wāh} asserts both sovereign rule and covenant authority. The interjection hōy {ה֖וֹי | hōy} issues the pronouncement of woe. The accusative prepositional phrase ʿal ha-nevi’im ha-nevalim {עַל־הַנְּבִיאִים הַנְּבָלִ֑ים | ʿal han-nə-bî-ʾîm han-nə-bā-lîm} identifies the condemned prophets, with ha-nevalim intensifying moral deficiency. The relative clause ʾăšer hōlkim ʾaḥar rūḥām {אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֹלְכִ֛ים אַחַ֥ר רוּחָ֖ם | ʾă-šer hōl-kîm ʾa-ḥar rū-ḥām} uses a participle to depict continuous pursuit of inward impulses rather than divine revelation. The concluding negative u-le-vilti raʾu {וּלְבִלְתִּ֥י רָאֽוּ | ū-lə-ḇil-tî rā-ʾû} introduces a clause of absolute absence of true vision. |