| 30. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vera'u {וְרָעוּ | wə-rā-ʿû} ‘and they will graze’, paralleled by yirbatsu {יִרְבָּצוּ | yir-bā-ṣû} ‘they will lie down’ in synonymous parallelism highlighting reversal for the marginalized. The adverbial phrase lavetach {לָבֶטַח | lā-ḇê-ṭā-ḥ} ‘in safety’ frames assured security before the shift to divine judgment. The conjunction vehematti {וְהֵמַתִּי | wə-hē-mat-tî} ‘and I will kill’ (Hiphil perfect) marks God’s direct action against shorshekh {שָׁרְשֵׁךְ | šor-šê-ḵ} ‘your root’, followed by bara'av {בָרָעָב | bā-rā-ʿā-ḇ} ‘with famine’ specifying the instrument. The final clause’s imperfect yaharog {יַהֲרֹג | ya-har-ôg} shifts to third person, creating a two-step structure: the famine itself acts as agent to slay the remnant, underscoring total judgment. |