| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with emor {אֱמֹר | ʾe-mōr} ‘say’ in the imperative, issuing a prophetic command. The coordinative phrases la-melekh {לַמֶּלֶךְ | la-mé-leḵ} ‘to the king’ and ve-la-gevirah {וְלַגְּבִירָה | və-la-gə-vi-rāh} ‘and to the queen mother’ mark the addressees. The paired imperatives hashpilu {הַשְׁפִּילוּ | haš-pî-lû} ‘humble yourselves’ (Hiphil) and shevu {שֵׁבוּ | še-vû} ‘sit’ (Qal) form a parallel structure urging submission. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introduces the causal clause. The perfect verb yarad {יָרַד | yā-rad} ‘has come down’ signals a completed demotion. The construct marʼašoteikhem {מַרְאֲשׁוֹתֵיכֶם | mar-ʼa-šo-tê-khem} ‘from your heads’ designates the locus of loss, and ʼāṭeret tifʼartekhem {עֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאַרְתְּכֶם | ʻǎ-ṭe-ret tip-ár-te-khem} ‘crown of your glory’ links royal insignia to personal honor. The sequence from command to justification, characteristic of prophetic admonitions, heightens the urgency of impending judgment. |