consequence: the outcome that follows a course of conduct, whether the reward it earns or, as a connecting word, the reason ("because") for what comes next
This word grows from a simple picture: the heel, what comes last and follows behind. From there it names whatever follows behind an action, its consequence. In practice that idea travels a surprising distance across the Hebrew Bible.
At its most concrete it is the reward or result that a way of living brings on, as in the "great reward" of keeping God's commands or the riches, honor, and life that follow humility. Stretched a step further, it becomes a linking word meaning "because" or "as a consequence of," tying a promise or a judgment to the conduct that earned it: Abraham is blessed "because" he obeyed; David's house keeps the sword "because" he despised the LORD. A third, quieter use points down the road to the lasting outcome, keeping God's ways "to the very end."
Underneath all three lies one thread: an act and what it produces are bound together, and this word names the link. A near cousin for the plain causal sense is יַעַן, which also means "because"; for the reward sense, the word for wages, שָׂכָר, sits close by.