לוּלֵי֙ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָאֹ֔ות הֹותִ֥יר לָ֛נוּ שָׂרִ֖יד כִּמְעָ֑ט כִּסְדֹ֣ם הָיִ֔ינוּ לַעֲמֹרָ֖ה דָּמִֽינוּ׃ ס
If YHWH of Hosts had not left us a remnant, just a little, we would have been like Sedom, we would have resembled ʿAmora.
Morphology
- לוּלֵי (lulei) – Root: לוּ; Form: Conjunction, conditional particle; Translation: “if not” or “unless”; Notes: Introduces a hypothetical contrary-to-fact condition.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: הוה; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The divine name, subject of the clause.
- צְבָאֹות (tsevaʾot) – Root: צבא; Form: Noun masculine plural in construct; Translation: “of Hosts”; Notes: Military term, title of divine power and authority.
- הֹותִיר (hotir) – Root: יתר; Form: Hifil perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “had left”; Notes: Indicates divine action of preserving survivors.
- לָנוּ (lanu) – Root: לְ + אֲנַחְנוּ; Form: Preposition + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “for us”; Notes: Marks the beneficiaries of YHWH’s mercy.
- שָׂרִיד (sarid) – Root: שׂרד; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a remnant”; Notes: A survivor or remainder, emphasizing the few spared.
- כִּמְעָט (kimʿat) – Root: מעט; Form: Preposition כְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “just a little”; Notes: Underscores how small the remnant is.
- כִּסְדֹם (ki-Sedom) – Root: סדם; Form: Preposition כְּ + proper noun; Translation: “like Sedom”; Notes: Refers to Sodom, symbol of divine judgment.
- הָיִינוּ (hayinu) – Root: היה; Form: Qal perfect 1st person plural; Translation: “we would have been”; Notes: Pluperfect in function with conditional particle.
- לַעֲמֹרָה (la-ʿAmorah) – Root: עמר; Form: Preposition לְ + proper noun; Translation: “like ʿAmorah”; Notes: Refers to Gomorrah, parallel to Sedom in destruction.
- דָּמִינוּ (daminu) – Root: דמה; Form: Qal perfect 1st person plural; Translation: “we would have resembled”; Notes: Indicates comparison in fate or appearance.