| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive vesamti {וְשַׂמְתִּי | wə-śam-tî} ‘and I will make’, introducing a divine decree of judgment. The direct object marker et {אֶת־ | ʾet} precedes the definite noun phrase haʿir hazot {הָעִיר הַזֹּאת | hā-ʿîr haz-zōṯ} ‘this city’. Two purpose clauses, leshammah {לְשַׁמָּה | lə-šammāh} ‘for desolation’ and velishreqah {וְלִשְׁרֵקָה | wə-lišrēqāh} ‘and for a hissing’, depict the city’s fate as both abandoned and scorned. The participle ʿover {עֹבֵר | ʿōbēr} ‘passing’ functions substantively to denote ‘everyone who passes by’. Sequential imperfect verbs yishshom {יִשֹּׁם | yiššōm} ‘will be appalled’ and veyishroq {וְיִשְׁרֹק | wə-yišrōq} ‘and will hiss’ describe the witnesses’ horror and contempt. The phrase al kol makkoteha {עַל־כָּל־מַכֹּתֶהָ | ʿal-kol makkōtehā} ‘at all its wounds’ emphasizes the completeness of the judgment by naming its visible effects. |