| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the narrative formula ve-hayah {וְהָיָה | wə-hā-yāh} ‘and it shall be,’ introducing a prophetic outcome. A conditional clause ki taggid {כִּי תַגִּיד | kî tag-gîḏ} ‘when you declare’ governs the direct object et kol-ha-dvarim ha-eleh {אֵת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה | ʾēt kol-had-də-ḇā-rîm hā-ʾēl-leh}, emphasizing the totality of the prophet’s message to la-ʿam ha-zeh {לָעָם הַזֶּה | lā-ʿām ha-zzeh} ‘this people.’ The verb ve-amru ʾe-le-kha {וְאָמְרוּ אֵלֶיךָ | wə-ʾāmə-rû ʾē-le-ḵā} ‘and they said to you’ introduces two parallel interrogative clauses: ʿal-meh dibber Yə-hō-Wāh ʿā-lê-nu {עַל־מֶה דִבֶּר יְהוָה עָלֵינוּ | ʿal-mê dib-bēr Yə-hō-Wāh ʿā-lê-nû} ‘upon what has the LORD spoken against us,’ and û-meh ʿă-vô-nê-nu û-meh ḥat-tā-ṯê-nu ă-šer ḥā-ṭā-nu {וּמֶה עֲוֹנֵנוּ וּמֶה חַטָּאתֵנוּ אֲשֶׁר חָטָאנוּ | û-meh ʿă-vô-nê-nû û-meh ḥat-tā-ṯê-nû ʾă-šer ḥā-ṭā-nu} ‘what is our iniquity and what is our sin that we have sinned.’ The use of avonenu and chattatenu creates a nuance between moral perversity and covenant violation. The final phrase la-Yə-hō-Wāh ʾĕ-lō-HÊ-nu {לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ} ‘against the LORD our God’ anchors the offense within the covenant relationship. |