| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with le-ʾummîm {לְאֻמִּ֗ים | lə-ʾummîm} ‘nations’, immediately followed by the prepositional simile kiš-ʾôn ma-yim rab-bîm {כִּשְׁא֞וֹן מַ֤יִם רַבִּים֙ | kiš-ʾôn ma-yim rab-bîm} ‘like the roar of many waters’, where the Niphal imperfect yiš-ʾâ-ûn {יִשָּׁא֔וּן | yiš-ʾâ-ûn} echoes the sound imagery. The vav-consecutive sequence wə-ḡā-ʿar {וְגָ֥עַר | wə-ḡā-ʿar}, wə-nās {וְנָ֣ס | wə-nās}, and wə-ruddāp̄ {וְרֻדַּ֗ף | wə-ruddāp̄} (‘and He rebukes’, ‘and he flees’, ‘and he is pursued’) organizes the swift divine intervention and its effect. Two parallel similes—kə-mōṣ hā-rîm {כְּמֹ֤ץ הָרִים֙ | kə-mōṣ hā-rîm} ‘like chaff of the mountains’ and û-kə-ḡal-gal {וּכְגַלְגַּ֖ל | û-kə-ḡal-gal} ‘and like a wheel’—each modified by lifnê-rû-aḥ {לִפְנֵי־ר֔וּחַ | lif-nê-rû-aḥ} ‘before wind’ and lif-nê sû-phâ {לִפְנֵ֥י סוּפָֽה׃ | lif-nê sû-phâ} ‘before the whirlwind’, build a crescendo of unstoppable judgment. English rendering preserves the vav-consecutive narrative flow and the paired similes for heightened poetic intensity. |