| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with ki-lifne {כִּי־לִפְנֵי | kî-lipnê} ‘for before’, where kî introduces a grounding explanation and lipnê governs qatsir {קָצִיר | qā-ṣîr} ‘harvest’ to set a clear temporal horizon. The compact image ketam-perach {כְּתָם־פֶּרַח | kə-ṯām-pe-raḥ} ‘when-complete-blossom’ marks the moment just as flowering has reached its peak. The next clause uvoser gomel yihyeh nitsah {וּבֹסֶר גֹּמֵל יִהְיֶה נִצָּה | û-bō-ser gō-mêl yih-yeh niṣ-ṣāh} ‘and-unripe-grape ripening will-be bud’ compresses process into a snapshot: the participle gōmêl portrays ripening in progress, while yihyeh links it to the emergent stage nitsah, emphasizing “just before fruition.”
The second half shifts from description to decisive action. The verb sequence vekharat … hesir hetaz {וְכָרַת … הֵסִיר הֵתַז | wə-ḵā-rat … hē-sîr hē-taz} uses perfect forms with vav in a predictive, prophetic setting, presenting the cutting as certain. The object hazalzallim {הַזַּלְזַלִּים | haz-zal-zal-lîm} ‘sprigs/shoots’ is first targeted “with” bammazmerot {בַּמַּזְמֵרוֹת | bam-maz-mê-rôṯ} ‘pruning hooks’, and then ve'et-hanetishot {וְאֶת־הַנְּטִישׁוֹת | wə-ʾet-han-nə-ṭî-šôṯ} marks a second object for paired Hiphil verbs, hesir and hetaz, which together intensify the sense of thorough removal. The piling up of pruning actions and vine imagery functions as a metaphor of judgment that interrupts growth at the critical moment before the harvest. |