אֵ֥יךְ חַ֨תָּה֙ הֵילִ֔ילוּ אֵ֛יךְ הִפְנָה־עֹ֥רֶף מֹואָ֖ב בֹּ֑ושׁ וְהָיָ֥ה מֹואָ֛ב לִשְׂחֹ֥ק וְלִמְחִתָּ֖ה לְכָל־סְבִיבָֽיו׃ ס
How it is broken! Howl! How Moʾav has turned the back! He is put to shame, and Moʾav has become a laughingstock and a horror to all around him.
Morphology
- אֵיךְ (ʾeikh) – Root: —; Form: Interrogative adverb; Translation: “how!”; Notes: Exclamatory, expressing astonishment at Moʾav’s downfall.
- חַתָּה (ḥattah) – Root: חתת; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “is broken”; Notes: Describes Moʾav’s collapse in battle or pride.
- הֵילִילוּ (heililu) – Root: ילל; Form: Hifil imperative 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “howl!”; Notes: Call to lamentation for Moʾav’s ruin.
- אֵיךְ (ʾeikh) – Root: —; Form: Interrogative adverb repeated; Translation: “how!”; Notes: Intensifies the astonishment.
- הִפְנָה־ (hiphnah-) – Root: פנה; Form: Hifil perfect 3rd person masculine singular with maqaf; Translation: “he has turned”; Notes: Used of turning away in retreat.
- עֹרֶף (ʿoref) – Root: עֹרֶף; Form: Noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “back, neck”; Notes: Refers to showing the back in fleeing.
- מֹואָב (Moʾav) – Root: —; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Moʾav”; Notes: The nation under judgment.
- בֹּושׁ (bosh) – Root: בושׁ; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “is put to shame”; Notes: Expresses humiliation and disgrace.
- וְהָיָה (ve-hayah) – Root: היה; Form: Qal perfect (used as future/resultative) 3rd person masculine singular with prefixed conjunction; Translation: “and has become”; Notes: Marks the consequence of Moʾav’s fall.
- מֹואָב (Moʾav) – Root: —; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Moʾav”; Notes: Repeated for emphasis in the parallelism.
- לִשְׂחֹק (li-seḥoq) – Root: שׂחק; Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine singular infinitive/abstract; Translation: “a laughingstock”; Notes: Moʾav becomes an object of ridicule.
- וְלִמְחִתָּה (ve-limḥittah) – Root: מחץ; Form: Conjunction וְ + noun feminine singular absolute with prefixed לְ; Translation: “and a horror”; Notes: Refers to being an object of ruin or terror.
- לְכָל־ (le-khol-) – Root: כל; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular construct with maqaf; Translation: “to all”; Notes: Governs “those around him.”
- סְבִיבָיו (sevivaiv) – Root: סבב; Form: Noun masculine plural with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “his surroundings, those around him”; Notes: Refers to neighboring nations observing Moʾav’s downfall.
- ס (samekh) – Root: —; Form: Masoretic accent marker (setumah); Translation: —; Notes: Marks a pause or section break in the Hebrew text.