וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲ֠לֵיהֶם שִׁמְע֨וּ דְבַר־יְהוָ֜ה מַלְכֵ֤י יְהוּדָה֙ וְכָל־יְהוּדָ֔ה וְכֹ֖ל יֹשְׁבֵ֣י יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם הַבָּאִ֖ים בַּשְּׁעָרִ֥ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃ ס
And you shall say to them, ‘Hear the word of YHWH, O kings of Yehuda, and all Yehuda, and all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim who come in at these gates.
Morphology
- וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ (veʾamarta) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal perfect 2nd person masculine singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “And you shall say”; Notes: Direct command to the prophet to proclaim YHWH’s message.
- אֲלֵיהֶם (ʾaleihem) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “to them”; Notes: Refers to the audience: kings, people of Yehudah, and Yerushalayim.
- שִׁמְעוּ (shimʿu) – Root: שׁמע; Form: Qal imperative masculine plural; Translation: “Hear”; Notes: Command to listen attentively—typical prophetic introduction.
- דְבַר־יְהוָה (devar-YHWH) – Root: דבר; Form: Construct noun + proper noun; Translation: “the word of YHWH”; Notes: Refers to divine speech or oracle, central to prophetic ministry.
- מַלְכֵי (malkei) – Root: מלך; Form: Masculine plural construct; Translation: “kings of”; Notes: Those in political authority over Yehudah.
- יְהוּדָה (Yehudah) – Root: יהודה; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yehudah”; Notes: The southern kingdom of Yisraʾel.
- וְכָל־יְהוּדָה (ve-khol-Yehudah) – Root: כל; Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular in construct + proper noun; Translation: “and all Yehudah”; Notes: Broadens the address from kings to all the people.
- וְכֹל (ve-khol) – Root: כל; Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and all”; Notes: Expands the address to further groups.
- יֹשְׁבֵי (yoshevei) – Root: ישׁב; Form: Qal active participle masculine plural construct; Translation: “inhabitants of”; Notes: Describes residents or dwellers.
- יְרוּשָׁלִָם (Yerushalayim) – Root: ירושלם; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yerushalayim”; Notes: Capital city, spiritual center of Yehudah.
- הַבָּאִים (habbaʾim) – Root: בוא; Form: Definite article + Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “who come”; Notes: Describes those entering the gates.
- בַּשְּׁעָרִים (ba-sheʿarim) – Root: שער; Form: Preposition בְּ + definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “at the gates”; Notes: Refers to the city gates, centers of social and civic activity.
- הָאֵלֶּה (ha-ʾelleh) – Root: אלה; Form: Demonstrative pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “these”; Notes: Specifies the very gates mentioned in the previous verse.