| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the temporal conjunction ve-acharei-ken {וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵן | wə-ʾaḥărē-ḵēn} ‘and after this,’ establishing the frame for Yahweh’s declaration. The noun neum {נְאֻם־ | nəʾum} ‘declaration’ serves as the prophetic formula marking the beginning of the oracle. The verb etten {אֶתֵּן | ʾettēn} ‘I will give’ governs a series of objects each introduced by the marker et {אֶת־ | ʾet}: tsidqiyyahu {צִדְקִיָּהוּ | ṣiḏqiyyāhû} ‘Zedekiah,’ melech yehudah {מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה | me-leḵ-yəhûḏāh} ‘king of Judah,’ avadav {עֲבָדָיו | ʿăḇāḏāw} ‘his servants,’ ha-am {הָעָם | hā-ʿām} ‘the people,’ and hanisharim {הַנִּשְׁאָרִים | han-nišʾārîm} ‘the survivors.’ The prepositional chain min-hadever {מִן־הַדֶּבֶר | min-had-de-ḇer}, min-hacherev {מִן־הַחֶרֶב | min-ha-ḥereḇ}, and u-min-haraav {וּמִן־הָרָעָב | ū-min-hā-rā-ʿāḇ} ‘from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine’ highlights the trio of calamities they have escaped. The repeated u-be-yad {וּבְיַד | ū-be-yad} ‘and into the hand of’ emphasizes the transference of control to Nebuchadrezzar and then to their enemies. The Hiphil vehikam {וְהִכָּם | wə-hik-kām} ‘and he will strike them’ intensifies the violent action, leading into the thrice-repeated negatives lo-yachus {לֹא־יָחוּס | lōʾ-yāḥûs}, ve-lo-yachmol {וְלֹא יַחְמֹל | wə-lōʾ-yaḥmōl}, ve-lo-yerachem {וְלֹא יְרַחֵֽם | wə-lōʾ-yəraḥēm} ‘he will not spare, nor will he have compassion, nor will he show mercy,’ underscoring the irrevocable nature of divine judgment. |