| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse unfolds through a sequence of wayyiqtol verbs with the vav-consecutive prefix, vattibṭaḥî {וַתִּבְטְחִ֣י | waṯ-tib-ṭaḥ-î} ‘you trusted’, vattiznî {וַתִּזְנִ֖י | waṯ-tiz-nî} ‘you played the harlot’, and vattišpəḵî {וַתִּשְׁפְּכִ֧י | waṯ-tiš-pə-ḵî} ‘you poured out’, all in second person feminine singular addressing Jerusalem as a female figure. The prepositional phrase be-yā-p̄-yê-ḵ {בְיָפְיֵךְ | bə-yā-p̄-yê-ḵ} ‘in your beauty’ marks the object of trust, followed by ʿal-šə-mê-ḵ {עַל־שְׁמֵךְ | ʿal-šə-mê-ḵ} ‘because of your name’, indicating motive. The direct object marker ʾet introduces taznutayikh {תַּזְנוּתַיִךְ | ta-znu-ta-yîḵ} ‘your acts of harlotry’, which are poured out ʿal-kol-ʿō-vêr {עַל־כָּל־עוֹבֵר | ʿal-kol-ʿō-vêr} ‘upon every passerby’. Finally the result clause lō-ye-hî {לוֹ־יֶהִי | lō-ye-hî} ‘to him it was’ conveys the transfer of possession. The chain of vav-consecutive forms builds rhetorical momentum, underscoring the cumulative nature of Jerusalem’s betrayal. |