הַעַל־אֵ֥לֶּה לֹֽא־אֶפְקָד־בָּ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה אִ֚ם בְּגֹ֣וי אֲשֶׁר־כָּזֶ֔ה לֹ֥א תִתְנַקֵּ֖ם נַפְשִֽׁי׃ ס
Shall I not punish for these things?” declares YHWH. “On a nation such as this, shall not My soul take vengeance?
Morphology
- הַעַל־אֵ֥לֶּה (haʿal-ʾelleh) – Root: אלה; Form: Interrogative particle + demonstrative pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “for these things”; Notes: Introduces a rhetorical question.
- לֹֽא־אֶפְקָד־בָּ֖ם (lo-ʾefqad-bam) – Root: פקד; Form: Qal imperfect 1st person singular + preposition + 3rd masculine plural suffix; Translation: “shall I not punish them?”; Notes: “Paqad” often connotes divine visitation for judgment.
- נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה (neʾum-YHWH) – Root: נאם; Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “declares YHWH”; Notes: Divine affirmation formula common in prophetic texts.
- אִ֚ם (im) – Root: אם; Form: Conditional particle; Translation: “if”; Notes: Introduces a hypothetical clause.
- בְּגֹ֣וי (be-goy) – Root: גוי; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “in/on a nation”; Notes: Prepositional phrase forming the object of the second clause.
- אֲשֶׁר־כָּזֶ֔ה (asher-ka-zeh) – Root: זה; Form: Relative pronoun + demonstrative pronoun masculine singular; Translation: “such as this”; Notes: Refers to the nation’s wickedness.
- לֹ֥א תִתְנַקֵּ֖ם (lo-titnaqqem) – Root: נקם; Form: Hitpael imperfect 3rd feminine singular; Translation: “shall not take vengeance”; Notes: Reflexive/passive nuance of vengeance.
- נַפְשִֽׁי (nafshi) – Root: נפשׁ; Form: Noun feminine singular + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “My soul”; Notes: Used anthropopathically for divine will or passion.