| 21. Linguistic Exegesis lakhen {לָכֵן֩ | lā-ḵēn} ‘therefore’ introduces a causal inference linking these commands to the preceding oracle of judgment. The Qal imperative ten {תֵּ֨ן | tēn} ‘give’ and the Hiphil imperative vehagirem {וְהַגִּרֵם֮ | wə-ha-gî-rēm} ‘pour them out’ frame Israel’s sons as objects of divine wrath, with et-bneihem {אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶם | ʾeṯ-bə-nê-hem} marking the direct object. The phrases laraav {לָרָעָב | lā-rā-ʿāḇ} ‘to the famine’ and al-yedei-cherev {עַל־יְדֵי־חֶרֶב | ʿal-yə-dê-ḥe-rev} ‘to the power of the sword’ specify means of destruction. A sequence of Qal imperfect forms vetihyenah {וְתִֽהְיֶנָה | wə-tih-yə-nāh} ‘let there be’ and yihiyu {יִהְיוּ | yi-hə-yū} ‘let them be’ governs nshehem shakulot ve-almanot {נְשֵׁיהֶם שַׁכֻּלוֹת וְאַלְמָנוֹת | nə-šê-hem šak-kū-lōt wə-ʾal-mā-nōt}, depicting bereaved wives and widows, and ve-anshehem harugei mavet {וְאַנְשֵׁיהֶם הֲרֻגֵי מָוֶת | wə-ʾan-šê-hem ha-rû-gê mā-vet}, depicting men meeting death. The final Hophal participle clause ba-ḥu-rê-hem mū-kê-ḥe-rev ba-mil-ḥā-māh {בַּחוּרֵיהֶם מֻכֵּי־חֶרֶב בַּמִּלְחָמָה} features the young men’s violent end in battle. The paratactic structure and cumulative imperatives intensify the pronouncement’s severity. |