וַֽיַּדְרְכ֤וּ אֶת־לְשֹׁונָם֙ קַשְׁתָּ֣ם שֶׁ֔קֶר וְלֹ֥א לֶאֱמוּנָ֖ה גָּבְר֣וּ בָאָ֑רֶץ כִּי֩ מֵרָעָ֨ה אֶל־רָעָ֧ה יָצָ֛אוּ וְאֹתִ֥י לֹֽא־יָדָ֖עוּ נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃ ס
“And they bent their tongue as their bow for falsehood, and not for faithfulness did they prevail in the land, for from evil to evil they go out, and Me they did not know,” declares YHWH.
Morphology
- וַיַּדְרְכ֤וּ (vayyadreḵu) – Root: דרך (darakh); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “And they bent”; Notes: Often used of bending a bow, metaphorically here applied to the tongue.
- אֶת־לְשֹׁונָם (et-leshonam) – Root: לשון (lashon); Form: Direct object marker + noun feminine singular with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “their tongue”; Notes: Object of the verb “bent.”
- קַשְׁתָּם (qashṭam) – Root: קשת (qeshet); Form: Noun feminine singular construct with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “as their bow”; Notes: Used metaphorically to describe the weaponization of speech.
- שֶׁ֔קֶר (sheqer) – Root: שקר (sheqer); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “falsehood”; Notes: Describes the nature of their speech.
- וְלֹא (velo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Conjunction + negative particle; Translation: “and not”; Notes: Introduces contrast.
- לֶאֱמוּנָה (leʾemunah) – Root: אמן (ʾmn); Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular; Translation: “for faithfulness”; Notes: Opposed to שׁקר; associated with truth and trust.
- גָּבְרוּ (gavru) – Root: גבר (gavar); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they prevailed”; Notes: Describes what was not done with faithfulness.
- בָאָרֶץ (baʾarets) – Root: ארץ (ʾarets); Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular definite; Translation: “in the land”; Notes: Context of moral corruption.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for”; Notes: Gives reason or explanation.
- מֵרָעָה (meraʿah) – Root: רעע (raʿaʿ); Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular; Translation: “from evil”; Notes: Starting point of behavior.
- אֶל־רָעָה (el-raʿah) – Root: רעע (raʿaʿ); Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular; Translation: “to evil”; Notes: Movement from one moral evil to another.
- יָצָאוּ (yatsaʾu) – Root: יצא (yatsaʾ); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they went out”; Notes: Describes their continued moral decline.
- וְאֹתִי (veʾoti) – Root: את (ʾet); Form: Conjunction + direct object marker + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “and Me”; Notes: Refers to YHWH as the rejected One.
- לֹא־יָדָעוּ (lo-yadaʿu) – Root: ידע (yadaʿ); Form: Negative particle + Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they did not know”; Notes: Implies rejection of relationship with YHWH.
- נְאֻם־יְהוָה (neʾum-YHWH) – Root: נאם (naʾam); Form: Noun construct + proper noun; Translation: “declares YHWH”; Notes: Divine confirmation of the statement.