Deuteronomy 27:14

Summary

The verse introduces a ceremonial declaration: the Levites will respond and speak to every man of Israel, doing so with a loud voice. It functions as the introductory formula preceding the series of curses that follow in the chapter.

Key words

• 'a.Nu ("they will answer", H6030B) — qal sequential perfect, third person plural; continues the narrative sequence of instructions begun earlier in the chapter.
• l.vi.Yim ("Levites", H3881) — masculine plural gentilic noun with the definite article ha ("the", H9009), identifying the specific group performing the action.
• 'a.me.Ru ("they will say", H0559) — qal sequential perfect, third person plural; paired with 'a.Nu to form a double verb of speech-act ("they will answer and say").
• 'ish ("person of", H0376G) — masculine singular noun in construct state, linked to Yis.ra.'El ("Israel", H3478) to form the phrase "every man of Israel."
• Ram ("high", H7311A) — qal participle, masculine singular, modifying Kol ("a voice", H6963A) to describe the manner of speech as "a raised/loud voice."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with two sequential perfect verbs joined by the narrative ve ("and", H9001): 'a.Nu ("they will answer") and 'a.me.Ru ("they will say"). This doubling of speech verbs is a common Hebrew construction indicating a formal or solemn act of speaking, here performed by ha-l.vi.Yim ("the Levites"). The subject is marked by the definite article, specifying this particular group as the ones responding.

The addressees are introduced with the preposition 'el ("to", H0413) followed by the construct chain kol-'ish Yisra'El ("every man of Israel"), where kol ("every", H3605) and 'ish ("person of", H0376G) are both in construct form, tightly binding the phrase into a single unit meaning "every individual Israelite man."

The final phrase, Kol Ram ("a voice, high/loud"), places the noun Kol ("voice", H6963A) before its qualifying participle Ram ("high", H7311A). This word order — noun followed by participle — is typical of Hebrew descriptive phrases and indicates that the voice itself is characterized as elevated or loud, describing the manner of the Levites' declaration rather than adding a separate action.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the double Hebrew verb construction ('a.Nu + 'a.me.Ru, "they will answer and say") with a single finite verb, ἐροῦσιν ("they will say"), preceded by a participle ἀποκριθέντες ("having answered"), producing a participial-plus-verb structure rather than two coordinated finite verbs. The Vulgate similarly uses two verbs, pronuntiabunt ("they will pronounce") and dicentque ("and they will say"), paralleling the Hebrew double-verb pattern more closely than the LXX.