| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the narrative vav-consecutive vayhi {וַיְהִי | wa-yə-hî} ‘and it happened,’ signaling a shift into prophetic discourse. The noun devar {דְבַר־ | də-var} ‘word’ forms a construct chain with Yahweh {יְהוָ֖ה | Yə-hō-wāh} (devar-Yahweh {דְבַר־יְהוָה | də-var-Yə-hō-wāh}), denoting a divine oracle. The prepositional phrase elai {אֵלַי | ʾê-lay} ‘to me’ specifies Jeremiah as the recipient. The infinitive construct lemor {לֵאמֹר | lē-mōr} ‘saying’ introduces the direct speech that follows. English rendering preserves this sequence and uses participial syntax to mirror the Hebrew clause structure and convey the anticipatory nature of the prophetic announcement. |