הִקְשַׁ֤בְתִּי וָֽאֶשְׁמָע֙ לֹוא־כֵ֣ן יְדַבֵּ֔רוּ אֵ֣ין אִ֗ישׁ נִחָם֙ עַל־רָ֣עָתֹ֔ו לֵאמֹ֖ר מֶ֣ה עָשִׂ֑יתִי כֻּלֹּ֗ה שָׁ֚ב בְּמִרְצוֹתָם כְּס֥וּס שֹׁוטֵ֖ף בַּמִּלְחָמָֽה׃
I listened and I heard, so they do not speak rightly. No man repents of his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’ All of them turn back in their own rushing, like a horse charging into the battle.
Morphology
- הִקְשַׁבְתִּי (hiqshavti) – Root: קשב (qashav); Form: Hiphil perfect 1st person common singular; Translation: “I listened attentively”; Notes: Causative form emphasizes deliberate, focused attention.
- וָאֶשְׁמָע (vaʾeshmaʿ) – Root: שמע (shamaʿ); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 1st person common singular; Translation: “and I heard”; Notes: Sequential action after listening; introduces divine evaluation.
- לֹוא (lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Denies the expectation of righteous speech.
- כֵן (ken) – Root: כן (ken); Form: Adverb; Translation: “rightly” or “thus”; Notes: Indicates truth or uprightness; paired with negation here.
- יְדַבֵּרוּ (yedabberu) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Piel imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they speak”; Notes: Piel intensifies the speech—emphasizes deliberate communication.
- אֵין (ʾein) – Root: —; Form: Negative existential particle; Translation: “there is no”; Notes: Denies the existence of repentance among the people.
- אִישׁ (ʾish) – Root: אישׁ (ʾish); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “man”; Notes: Represents any individual; emphasizes universality.
- נִחָם (niḥam) – Root: נחם (naḥam); Form: Niphal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “repents” or “is sorry”; Notes: Reflexive or passive, typical for expressing sorrow or regret.
- עַל־רָעָתוֹ (ʿal-raʿato) – Root: רעע (raʿaʿ); Form: Preposition עַל + noun feminine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “for his evil”; Notes: Indicates the subject’s wrongdoing.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Infinitive construct with לְ; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces quoted speech or content of thought.
- מֶה (meh) – Root: —; Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “what”; Notes: Introduces the rhetorical question of conscience.
- עָשִׂיתִי (ʿasiti) – Root: עשה (ʿasah); Form: Qal perfect 1st person common singular; Translation: “have I done”; Notes: Reflects moral introspection which is absent here.
- כֻּלֹּה (kullo) – Root: כלל (kalal); Form: Noun masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “all of him” or “all of them”; Notes: Collective reference to the people; sometimes understood as emphatic “every one.”
- שָׁב (shav) – Root: שוב (shuv); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “has turned back”; Notes: Ironically describes turning back to wrong ways, not repentance.
- בְּמִרְצוֹתָם (be-mirtzotam) – Root: רץ (ratz); Form: Preposition + plural noun with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “in their rushing” or “impulses”; Notes: Likely metaphor for stubborn drive or headstrong will.
- כְּסוּס (ke-sus) – Root: סוס (sus); Form: Noun masculine singular with comparative כְּ; Translation: “like a horse”; Notes: Comparison sets the image of reckless charge.
- שֹׁטֵף (shoteif) – Root: שטף (shataph); Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “charging” or “galloping”; Notes: Describes swift, unstoppable motion.
- בַּמִּלְחָמָה (ba-milḥamah) – Root: לחם (laḥam); Form: Preposition + definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “into the battle”; Notes: The metaphor completes the image of impulsive destruction.