| 11. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the waw-consecutive Qal perfect form ve-amarta {וְאָמַרְתָּ | wə-ʾā-mar-tā} ‘and you shall say,’ introducing divine proclamation. The causal clause al asher azvu avoteikhem oti {עַל אֲשֶׁר־עָזְבוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם אוֹתִי | ʿal ʾă-šer ʿā-zə-ḇû ʾă-ḇō-ṯê-ḵem ʾô-tî} ‘because your fathers forsook me’ establishes the basis for judgment. The prophetic tag neum-Yahweh {נְאֻם־יְהוָה | nə-ʾum Yə-hō-wāh} affirms divine authority. A series of waw-prefixed wayyiqtol verbs—vayelchu {וַיֵּלְכוּ | wə-ya-le-ḵû} ‘and they went,’ vayaavdum {וַיַּעַבְד֖וּם | wə-ya-ʿa-ḇə-ḏum} ‘and they served them,’ and vayishtachavu {וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲו֣וּ | wə-yiš-ta-ḥă-vû} ‘and they bowed down’—depicts progressive idolatry. The repetition of the perfect verb azvu {עָזְבוּ | ʿā-zə-ḇû} in ve-oti azavu underscores both relational abandonment and covenant violation. The final clause ve-et-torati lo shamaru {וְאֶת־תּוֹרָתִי לֹא שָׁמָרוּ | wə-ʾeṯ-tō-ra-tî lōʾ šā-mā-rû} contrasts personal rejection with legal noncompliance. The translation preserves Hebrew clause order while rendering standard English word order to maintain rhetorical impact. |