| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the universal quantifier kol {כָּל | kôl} ‘all,’ followed by the construct chain malkei goyim {מַלְכֵ֥י גוֹיִ֖ם | mal·kê gôyim} ‘kings of nations,’ establishing a broad collective. The subsequent kulam {כֻּלָּ֑ם | kūlām} ‘all of them’ reinforces totality. The perfect verb shachvu {שָׁכְב֥וּ | šāḵəḇû} denotes a completed state of lying. The prepositional phrase bekavod {בְּכָב֖וֹד | bə-kāvôḏ} functions as an adverbial of manner indicating honor. The distributive ish beveito {אִ֥ישׁ בְּבֵיתֽוֹ | ʾîš bə-ḇêṯô} ‘each in his own house’ individualizes each king. In translation, the Hebrew VSO order is rendered into SVO for natural English flow, the perfect is rendered in the present to convey ongoing state, and the distributive nuance is maintained. |