| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The vav-consecutive form veamarta {וְאָמַרְתָּ | wə-ʾā-mar-tā} ‘and you shall say’ introduces a prophetic command in a temporal sequence. The construct el-admat Yisraʼel {אֶל־אַדְמַת יִשְׂרָאֵל | ʾel-ʾad-maṯ yiś-rā-ʾēl} ‘to the land of Israel’ specifies the territorial addressee. The oracle formula kō amar Yahweh {כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה | kō ʾā-mar Yə-hō-wāh} ‘thus says the LORD’ frames the divine speaker. The particle hineni {הִנְנִי | hin-nē-nî} ‘behold, I’ signals emphatic divine presence. The Hifil sequence vehotseʼti kharbi mitaʿarah {וְהוֹצֵאתִי חַרְבִּי מִתַּעֲרָהּ | wə-hō-ṣē-ʾî ḥar-bî mi-ṭa-ʿā-rāh} ‘and I will bring out my sword from its sheath’ functions as a metaphor for impending judgment. The parallel Hifil sequence vehikhrati mimekh tsaddiq verasha {וְהִכְרַתִּי מִמֶּךְ צַדִּיק וְרָשָׁע | wə-hik-ra-tî mi-mekh ṣad-dîq wə-rā-šāʿ} ‘and I will cut off from you righteous and wicked’ underscores the totality of the threat by linking the removal of both groups. |