הֵ֣ן אֲדֹנָ֤י יְהוִה֙ יַֽעֲזָר־לִ֔י מִי־ה֖וּא יַרְשִׁיעֵ֑נִי הֵ֤ן כֻּלָּם֙ כַּבֶּ֣גֶד יִבְל֔וּ עָ֖שׁ יֹאכְלֵֽם׃
Behold, my Lord YHWH helps me; who is he who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them.
Morphology
- הֵ֣ן (hen) – Root: הן; Form: Interjection; Translation: “Behold”; Notes: Draws emphatic attention to the following statement.
- אֲדֹנָ֤י (ʾAdonai) – Root: אדן (ʾadon); Form: Noun masculine plural with 1st person singular suffix, used reverentially; Translation: “my Lord”; Notes: Honorific for YHWH, denoting sovereignty.
- יְהוִה (YHWH) – Root: הוה (havah); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The divine name, indicating the covenant God of Yisraʾel.
- יַֽעֲזָר־לִ֔י (yaʿazar-li) – Root: עזר (ʿazar); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular + preposition לְ with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “helps me”; Notes: Expresses ongoing divine assistance.
- מִי־ה֖וּא (mi-hu) – Root: מי (mi) + הוא (hu); Form: Interrogative + pronoun 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “who is he”; Notes: Rhetorical challenge to any accuser.
- יַרְשִׁיעֵ֑נִי (yarshiʿeni) – Root: רשע (rashaʿ); Form: Hifil imperfect 3rd person masculine singular + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “will declare me guilty”; Notes: Legal terminology; Hifil intensifies causation of guilt.
- הֵ֤ן (hen) – Root: הן; Form: Interjection; Translation: “Behold”; Notes: Repetition underscores certainty and contrast.
- כֻּלָּם (kullam) – Root: כל (kol); Form: Noun + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “all of them”; Notes: Refers to potential accusers or opponents.
- כַּבֶּ֣גֶד (ka-beged) – Root: בגד (beged); Form: Preposition כְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “like a garment”; Notes: Simile indicating decay or perishability.
- יִבְל֔וּ (yivlu) – Root: בלה (balah); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they will wear out”; Notes: Describes fading, physical disintegration.
- עָ֖שׁ (ʿash) – Root: עשׁ (ʿash); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “moth”; Notes: A traditional symbol of decay and impermanence.
- יֹאכְלֵֽם (yoʾkheleim) – Root: אכל (ʾakhal); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “will eat them”; Notes: Final image of their end—destruction by insignificance.