כִּֽי־בָעֲרָ֤ה כָאֵשׁ֙ רִשְׁעָ֔ה שָׁמִ֥יר וָשַׁ֖יִת תֹּאכֵ֑ל וַתִּצַּת֙ בְּסִֽבְכֵ֣י הַיַּ֔עַר וַיִּֽתְאַבְּכ֖וּ גֵּא֥וּת עָשָֽׁן׃
For wickedness burns like fire; it devours thorn and briar; and it kindles in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
Morphology
- כִּֽי־ (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “For”; Notes: Introduces the reason or explanation for YHWH’s continued judgment.
- בָעֲרָ֤ה (baʿarah) – Root: בער; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “it burns”; Notes: Refers metaphorically to wickedness spreading like fire.
- כָאֵשׁ֙ (ka-ʾesh) – Root: אשׁ; Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular; Translation: “like fire”; Notes: Simile showing the destructive nature of evil.
- רִשְׁעָ֔ה (rishʿah) – Root: רשע; Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “wickedness”; Notes: Subject of the burning metaphor.
- שָׁמִ֥יר (shamir) – Root: שמר (in this noun usage); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “thorn”; Notes: Symbol of worthless or harmful vegetation, often a metaphor for the wicked.
- וָשַׁ֖יִת (va-shayit) – Root: שית; Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and briar”; Notes: Paired with shamir to emphasize what wickedness consumes.
- תֹּאכֵ֑ל (toʾkhel) – Root: אכל; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “it devours”; Notes: Refers back to rishʿah as subject.
- וַתִּצַּת֙ (va-titsat) – Root: יצת; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “and it kindled”; Notes: Continues fire imagery—wickedness sparking destruction.
- בְּסִֽבְכֵ֣י (be-sivkhei) – Root: סבך; Form: Preposition + plural construct noun; Translation: “in the thickets of”; Notes: Dense growth, representing complexity and danger.
- הַיַּ֔עַר (ha-yaʿar) – Root: יער; Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the forest”; Notes: Forest here symbolizes society or nation.
- וַיִּֽתְאַבְּכ֖וּ (va-yitʾabbeku) – Root: אבך; Form: Hitpael wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “and they rolled upward”; Notes: Rare verb meaning to coil or billow—used of smoke rising.
- גֵּא֥וּת (geʾut) – Root: גאה; Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “column” or “majesty”; Notes: Used poetically for the swelling form of smoke.
- עָשָֽׁן (ʿashan) – Root: עשׁן; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “smoke”; Notes: Final image in the metaphor, signaling the visible result of divine wrath.