| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive perfect veamarta {וְאָמַרְתָּ | wə-ʾā-mar-tā} ‘and you shall say’, signaling the prophetic oracle. The imperative shema {שְׁמַע | šə-maʿ} functions as a direct summons. The construct chain devar-Yahweh {דְּבַר־יְהוָה | də-var Yə-hō-wāh} ‘word of the LORD’ establishes divine authority. The appositional phrase mê-leḵ yə-hū-ḏāh ha-yō-šēḇ ʿal-kis-sēʾ dā-vid {מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָה הַיֹּשֵׁב עַל־כִּסֵּא דָוִד | mê-leḵ yə-hū-ḏāh ha-yō-šēḇ ʿal-kis-sēʾ dā-vid} defines the addressee’s royal identity. The enumeration ʾat-tāʾ wa-ʿă-ḇā-ḏe-ḵā wə-ʿam-mə-ḵā {אַתָּה וַעֲבָדֶיךָ וְעַמְּךָ | ʾat-tāʾ wa-ʿă-ḇā-ḏe-ḵā wə-ʿam-mə-ḵā} extends the summons to the king, his servants, and his people, and the participial clause ha-bāʼîm baš-šə-ʿā-rîm hā-ʼēl-leh {הַבָּאִים בַּשְּׁעָרִים הָאֵלֶּה | ha-bāʼîm baš-šə-ʿā-rîm hā-ʼēl-leh} specifies those entering through the gates. The translation retains the hierarchical and cumulative structure of the Hebrew. |