| 33. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the oath formula chai ani {חַי אָנִי | ḥay ʾānî} ‘as I live,’ introducing divine speech with the emphatic particle neum {נְאֻם | neʾum} ‘utterance.’ The compound name Adonai Yahweh {אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה | ʾădōnāy Yahweh} establishes the personal sovereign speaker. The idiom im-lo {אִם־לֹא | ʾim lōʾ} functions as a pledge of certainty. The successive instrumental phrases beyad chazakah {בְּיָד חֲזָקָה | bə-yāḏ ḥazāqāh} ‘with a strong hand,’ ū-vizrōa netuyāh {וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה | ū-vizrōaʿ nəṭûyāh} ‘and with an outstretched arm,’ and ū-vəḥēmāh šəp̄ûḵāh {וּבְחֵמָה שְׁפוּכָה | ū-vəḥēmāh šəp̄ûḵāh} ‘and with fury poured out’ employ parallelism for dramatic emphasis. The verb emlōḵ ʿalêkhem {אֶמְלֹךְ עֲלֵיכֶם | ʾemlōḵ ʿalêkhem} uses the Qal imperfect to assert a determined future divine rule. |