שִׁמְע֤וּ אִיִּים֙ אֵלַ֔י וְהַקְשִׁ֥יבוּ לְאֻמִּ֖ים מֵרָחֹ֑וק יְהוָה֙ מִבֶּ֣טֶן קְרָאָ֔נִי מִמְּעֵ֥י אִמִּ֖י הִזְכִּ֥יר שְׁמִֽי׃
Listen, coastlands, to me; and give attention, peoples from afar. YHWH from the womb has called me, from the inward parts of my mother He has made mention of my name.
Morphology
- שִׁמְע֤וּ (shimʿu) – Root: שׁמע; Form: Qal imperative masculine plural; Translation: “Listen”; Notes: Command addressed to plural addressees, initiating a prophetic proclamation.
- אִיִּים (iyyim) – Root: אי; Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “coastlands”; Notes: Often symbolic of distant nations or islands, those far from the speaker’s land.
- אֵלַי (ʾelai) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Directing attention of distant peoples toward the speaker.
- וְהַקְשִׁ֥יבוּ (ve-haqshivū) – Root: קשׁב; Form: Hifil imperative masculine plural with conjunction; Translation: “and give attention”; Notes: Causative imperative form, calling for focused listening.
- לְאֻמִּים (le’ummim) – Root: אֻם; Form: Noun masculine plural with preposition; Translation: “peoples”; Notes: Refers to various nations or ethnic groups; collective address.
- מֵרָחֹק (me-raḥoq) – Root: רחק; Form: Noun masculine singular with preposition; Translation: “from afar”; Notes: Indicates physical or metaphorical distance.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: הוה; Form: Proper name of God; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The covenantal name of the God of Yisraʾel.
- מִבֶּ֣טֶן (mi-beten) – Root: בטן; Form: Noun feminine singular with preposition; Translation: “from the womb”; Notes: Refers to pre-birth calling or designation.
- קְרָאָנִי (qeraʾani) – Root: קרא; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “He has called me”; Notes: Past action indicating divine initiative in calling.
- מִמְּעֵי (mi-məʿei) – Root: מעֶה; Form: Noun masculine plural construct with preposition; Translation: “from the inward parts of”; Notes: Poetic synonym for womb, emphasizes intimacy of origin.
- אִמִּי (immi) – Root: אם; Form: Noun feminine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my mother”; Notes: Possessive construction emphasizing personal origin.
- הִזְכִּיר (hizkir) – Root: זכר; Form: Hifil perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “He has made mention”; Notes: Causative stem, indicating purposeful action of God.
- שְׁמִי (shmi) – Root: שם; Form: Noun masculine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my name”; Notes: Indicates personal identity, foreknown and spoken by YHWH.