| 41. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with a ritual metaphor bere’ach nichoach {בְּרֵיחַ נִיחֹחַ | bə-rē-aḥ nî-ḥō-aḥ} ‘as a pleasing fragrance’, drawing on sacrificial language in Leviticus. The imperfect ertzah {אֶרְצָה | ʾer-ṣāh} ‘I will accept’ indicates God’s future active commitment. The paired temporal and coordinate clauses be-ḥo-tsi’i {בְּהוֹצִיאִַי | bə-hō-ṣî-ʾî} ‘when I bring out’ and ve-qibatzti {וְקִבַּצְתִּי | wə-qib-baṣ-tî} ‘and I gather’ emphasize restoration and regathering. The relative clause asher nifotzetem bam {אֲשֶׁר נִפֹצֹתֶם בָּם | ʾă-šer nif-ō-ṣō-tem bām} situates the act in the exile context. The final phrase ve-nikdashti ba-khem le-einei ha-goyim {וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי בָכֶם לְעֵינֵי הַגּוֹיִם | wə-niq-daš-tî ba-khem lə-ʿê-nê hag-gō-yim} uses the Nifal perfect passive to portray God’s holiness being uniquely manifested through Israel before the nations. |