has been construed with elements of promise to soften the announced destruction. The following reasons have been offered in support of this interpretation: a. The initial sign of the promise was rejected and replaced by a judgment oracle signalled by the adverb lākēn (“therefore”). b. The final section of v. 16, “before [whose kings] you now cower” cannot originally be a modifier of the noun hā’adāmāh (“cultivated soil”), which is not a political designation. The clause was later added to turn