וָאֹמַ֞ר אֹֽוי־לִ֣י כִֽי־נִדְמֵ֗יתִי כִּ֣י אִ֤ישׁ טְמֵֽא־שְׂפָתַ֨יִם֙ אָנֹ֔כִי וּבְתֹוךְ֙ עַם־טְמֵ֣א שְׂפָתַ֔יִם אָנֹכִ֖י יֹושֵׁ֑ב כִּ֗י אֶת־הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֹ֖ות רָא֥וּ עֵינָֽי׃
And I said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, YHWH of Hosts.”
Morphology
- וָאֹמַר (va-omar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 1st person masculine singular; Translation: “And I said”; Notes: Marks the prophet’s immediate reaction.
- אֹוי־לִי (oy-li) – Root: אוי (oy); Form: Interjection + preposition + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “Woe is me”; Notes: Cry of despair or terror in prophetic context.
- כִּי־נִדְמֵיתִי (ki-nidmeiti) – Root: דמה (damah); Form: Nifal perfect 1st person masculine singular; Translation: “for I am undone” or “ruined”; Notes: Passive form expressing fear of annihilation.
- כִּי (ki) – Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for” or “because”; Notes: Introduces explanation.
- אִישׁ טְמֵא־שְׂפָתַיִם (ish temeʾ-sefatayim) – Root: טמא (tameʾ), שׂפה (safah); Form: Noun phrase: “a man of unclean lips”; Notes: Expresses Isaiah’s sense of moral and ritual impurity.
- אָנֹכִי (anokhi) – Root: —; Form: Independent pronoun 1st person masculine singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: Emphatic self-reference.
- וּבְתֹוךְ (u-ve-tokh) – Root: תוך (tokh); Form: Conjunction + preposition + noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “and in the midst of”; Notes: Locative phrase describing environment.
- עַם־טְמֵא שְׂפָתַיִם (ʿam-temeʾ sefatayim) – Root: עם (ʿam), טמא (tameʾ), שׂפה (safah); Form: Construct phrase; Translation: “a people of unclean lips”; Notes: Collective impurity, mirroring the prophet’s own.
- יֹושֵׁב (yoshev) – Root: ישׁב (yashav); Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “dwelling” or “living”; Notes: Continuous residence among impure people.
- כִּי (ki) – Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for” or “because”; Notes: Gives reason for the terror.
- אֶת־הַמֶּלֶךְ (et-ha-melekh) – Root: מלך (melekh); Form: Direct object marker + definite noun; Translation: “the King”; Notes: Reference to YHWH in majestic terms.
- יְהוָה צְבָאֹות (YHWH tsevaʾot) – Root: צבא (tsava); Form: Divine name + construct noun plural; Translation: “YHWH of Hosts”; Notes: Military title of divine authority.
- רָאוּ (raʾu) – Root: ראה (raʾah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person plural; Translation: “have seen”; Notes: Subject is “my eyes,” a poetic plural.
- עֵינָי (ʿeinai) – Root: עין (ʿayin); Form: Noun feminine dual with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my eyes”; Notes: Used with the plural verb as poetic subject.