| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive verb `ve’avru {וְעָֽבְרוּ | wə-ʿāḇərû} ‘and they will pass,’ projecting a future action where `goyim {גּוֹיִם | gôyim} ‘nations’ move upon `ha’ir {הָעִיר | hā-ʿîr} ‘the city.’ The adjective `rabbim {רַבִּים | rabbîm} ‘many’ intensifies the subject. `Hazot {הַזֹּאת | ha-zōṯ} ‘this’ specifies the referent. The clause `ve’amru {וְאָֽמְרוּ | wə-ʾāmrû} ‘and they will say’ introduces a distributive construction with `ish {אִישׁ | ʾîš} ‘each man’ to `re’ehu {רֵעֵהוּ | rēʿēhû} ‘his neighbor.’ The interrogative `al-meh {עַל־מֶה | ʿal-meh} ‘why’ frames the inquiry about divine causality, immediately followed by `asah {עָשָׂה | ʿāśāh} ‘has done’ with `Yahweh {יְהוָה | Yə-hō-wāh} ‘LORD’ as subject. The adverb `kakha {כָּכָה | kā-kāh} ‘thus’ and the phrase `la’ir {לָעִיר | lā-ʿîr} `hagedolah {הַגְּדוֹלָה | ha-gedôlāh} `hazot {הַזֹּאת | ha-zōṯ} ‘to this great city’ complete the prophetic declaration, framing the LORD’s action as both decisive and unprecedented. The formal mirrors the Hebrew distributive and causal structures; the dynamic smooths idiomatic expressions for clarity. |