| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with vehikeiti {וְהִכֵּיתִי | wə-hi-kê-ṯî} ‘and I will strike’, a Hifil perfect verb with first person singular suffix that introduces a decisive divine action. The direct object markers et {אֶת־ | ʾeṯ} and ve’et {וְאֶת־ | wə-ʾeṯ} distribute the action across multiple recipients: yoshvei haʿir hazot {יוֹשְׁבֵי הָעִיר הַזֹּאת | yôš-ḇê hā-ʿîr haz-zōṯ} ‘inhabitants of this city’, ha’adam {הָאָדָם | hā-’ā-ḏām} ‘the man’, and habehemah {הַבְּהֵמָה | hab-bə-hê-māh} ‘the beast’, emphasizing both human and animal targets. The instrumental phrase badever gadol {בְּדֶבֶר גָּדֹול | bə-de-ḇer gā-ḏōl} ‘by a great pestilence’ specifies the means of execution, and the final verb yamutu {יָמֻתוּ | yā-mu-ṯû} ‘they will die’ concludes the prophetic decree with collective certainty. |