רֹעִ֤ים רַבִּים֙ שִֽׁחֲת֣וּ כַרְמִ֔י בֹּסְס֖וּ אֶת־חֶלְקָתִ֑י נָֽתְנ֛וּ אֶת־חֶלְקַ֥ת חֶמְדָּתִ֖י לְמִדְבַּ֥ר שְׁמָמָֽה׃
Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard, they have trampled My portion, they have made the portion of My delight a desolate wilderness.
Morphology
- רֹעִים (roʿim) – Root: רעה; Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “shepherds”; Notes: Figurative for leaders, rulers, or invading kings.
- רַבִּים (rabbim) – Root: רבב; Form: Adjective masculine plural; Translation: “many”; Notes: Modifies “shepherds”—emphasizes the multitude of destroyers.
- שִֽׁחֲתוּ (shiḥatu) – Root: שׁחת; Form: Piel perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they have ruined”; Notes: Piel intensifies the destruction; deliberate corruption.
- כַרְמִי (karmi) – Root: כרם; Form: Noun masculine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “My vineyard”; Notes: Symbol of Yisraʾel or YHWH’s cultivated people.
- בֹּסְסוּ (bosesu) – Root: בסס; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they trampled”; Notes: Violent desecration—literal or metaphorical abuse of sacred territory.
- אֶת־חֶלְקָתִי (et-ḥelqati) – Root: חלק; Form: Direct object marker + noun feminine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “My portion”; Notes: Another term for the land of Yisraʾel as YHWH’s possession.
- נָתְנוּ (natnu) – Root: נתן; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they have made” / “they have given”; Notes: Carries the sense of transforming or reducing to a state.
- אֶת־חֶלְקַת (et-ḥelqat) – Root: חלק; Form: Direct object marker + construct noun feminine singular; Translation: “the portion of”; Notes: Construct phrase leading to next element.
- חֶמְדָּתִי (ḥemdatī) – Root: חמד; Form: Noun feminine singular construct + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “My delight”; Notes: Expresses affection—YHWH’s cherished land.
- לְמִדְבַּר (le-midbar) – Root: דבר; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “to a wilderness”; Notes: Indicates outcome or transformation into desolation.
- שְׁמָמָה (shemamah) – Root: שׁמם; Form: Noun feminine singular in apposition; Translation: “desolation”; Notes: Emphatic repetition of ruin—uninhabitable, cursed land.