וְהָיָ֗ה כִּ֤י תַגִּיד֙ לָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה אֵ֥ת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה וְאָמְר֣וּ אֵלֶ֗יךָ עַל־מֶה֩ דִבֶּ֨ר יְהוָ֤ה עָלֵ֨ינוּ֙ אֵ֣ת כָּל־הָרָעָ֤ה הַגְּדֹולָה֙ הַזֹּ֔את וּמֶ֤ה עֲוֹנֵ֨נוּ֙ וּמֶ֣ה חַטָּאתֵ֔נוּ אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָטָ֖אנוּ לַֽיהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃
And it shall be, when you declare to this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has YHWH spoken against us all this great evil? And what is our iniquity, and what is our sin that we have sinned against YHWH our God?’
Morphology
- וְהָיָ֗ה (ve-hayah) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “And it shall be”; Notes: Introduces a future condition or consequence (wayyiqtol-like sequential narrative).
- כִּ֤י (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “when”; Notes: Conditional temporal clause.
- תַגִּיד֙ (taggid) – Root: נגד (nagad); Form: Hiphil imperfect 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “you declare”; Notes: Causative sense—“make known.”
- לָעָ֣ם (la-ʿam) – Root: עם (ʿam); Form: Preposition לְ + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “to the people”; Notes: Direct object of the proclamation.
- הַזֶּ֔ה (ha-zeh) – Root: זה (zeh); Form: Demonstrative adjective masculine singular; Translation: “this”; Notes: Specifies the people addressed.
- אֵ֥ת (et) – Root: את (ʾet); Form: Definite direct object marker; Translation: —; Notes: Introduces the following object of the verb.
- כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים (kol-ha-devarim) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Construct noun “all” + definite plural noun masculine; Translation: “all the words”; Notes: Totality of prophetic declarations.
- הָאֵ֑לֶּה (ha-eleh) – Root: אלה (eleh); Form: Demonstrative plural masculine; Translation: “these”; Notes: Refers back to YHWH’s revealed words.
- וְאָמְר֣וּ (ve-ʾamru) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural with vav-consecutive; Translation: “and they say”; Notes: Introduces the expected response.
- אֵלֶ֗יךָ (eilekha) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Indicates direct address to the prophet.
- עַל־מֶה֩ (ʿal-mah) – Root: על (ʿal) + מה (mah); Form: Preposition + interrogative; Translation: “Why”; Notes: Introduces a rhetorical question.
- דִבֶּ֨ר (dibber) – Root: דבר (diber); Form: Piel perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “has spoken”; Notes: Emphasizes declarative force of YHWH’s speech.
- יְהוָ֤ה (YHWH) – Root: הוה (hwh); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The divine name used in covenant contexts.
- עָלֵ֨ינוּ֙ (ʿaleinu) – Root: על (ʿal); Form: Preposition + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “against us”; Notes: Perceived as an adversarial oracle.
- אֵ֣ת (et) – Root: את (ʾet); Form: Definite direct object marker; Translation: —; Notes: Marks direct object of “has spoken.”
- כָּל־הָרָעָ֤ה (kol-ha-raʿah) – Root: רעע (raʿaʿ); Form: Construct noun “all” + definite feminine noun singular; Translation: “all the evil”; Notes: Refers to the prophesied calamities.
- הַגְּדֹולָה֙ (ha-gedolah) – Root: גדל (gadol); Form: Definite adjective feminine singular; Translation: “the great”; Notes: Emphasizes the severity of the evil.
- הַזֹּ֔את (ha-zot) – Root: זה (zeh); Form: Demonstrative feminine singular; Translation: “this”; Notes: Further specifying the evil event.
- וּמֶ֤ה (u-mah) – Root: מה (mah); Form: Conjunction + interrogative; Translation: “and what”; Notes: Begins a list of self-defensive questions.
- עֲוֹנֵ֨נוּ֙ (ʿavonenu) – Root: עון (ʿavon); Form: Noun masculine singular + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “our iniquity”; Notes: Moral guilt, often internal and deliberate.
- וּמֶ֣ה (u-mah) – Root: מה (mah); Form: Conjunction + interrogative; Translation: “and what”; Notes: Parallel to previous clause.
- חַטָּאתֵ֔נוּ (ḥattatenu) – Root: חטא (ḥata); Form: Noun feminine singular + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “our sin”; Notes: General term for wrongdoing or failure.
- אֲשֶׁ֥ר (asher) – Root: אשר (asher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “that”; Notes: Introduces relative clause.
- חָטָ֖אנוּ (ḥataʾnu) – Root: חטא (ḥata); Form: Qal perfect 1st person plural; Translation: “we have sinned”; Notes: Denotes action committed in the past.
- לַֽיהוָ֥ה (la-YHWH) – Root: הוה (hwh); Form: Preposition לְ + proper noun; Translation: “against YHWH”; Notes: Object of the sin described.
- אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ (ʾeloheinu) – Root: אלה (ʾeloah); Form: Construct plural noun + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “our God”; Notes: Covenantally identified relationship.