| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the consecutive vav prefix in venasata {וְנָשָׂ֜אתָ | wə-nā-šā-’āṯā} ‘and you will take up’ followed by hamashal {הַמָּשָׁל | ham-mā-šāl} ‘proverb’, introducing a fixed rhetorical form. The demonstrative hazzeh {הַזֶּ֛ה | haz-zēh} ‘this’ specifies the oracle directed by al {עַל־ | ’al} against melekh bavel {מֶ֥לֶךְ בָּבֶ֖ל | me-lē-ḵ bā-vel} ‘king of Babylon’. The perfect verbs shavat {שָׁבַ֣ת | šā-vaṯ} ‘has ceased’ and shavta {שָׁבְתָ֖ה | ša-və-tā} ‘has ceased’ create a parallelism emphasizing the sudden end of the masculine nogesh {נֹגֵ֔שׂ | nō-ḡêš} ‘oppressor’ and the feminine madhevah {מַדְהֵבָה | ma-dhē-vā-h} ‘insolent fury’. The Hebrew verbless exclamation intensifies the judgment and requires English restructuring to preserve its force and immediacy. |