כִּרְת֤וּ זֹורֵ֨עַ֙ מִבָּבֶ֔ל וְתֹפֵ֥שׂ מַגָּ֖ל בְּעֵ֣ת קָצִ֑יר מִפְּנֵי֙ חֶ֣רֶב הַיֹּונָ֔ה אִ֤ישׁ אֶל־עַמֹּו֙ יִפְנ֔וּ וְאִ֥ישׁ לְאַרְצֹ֖ו יָנֻֽסוּ׃ ס
Cut off the sower from Bavel, and him who handles the sickle at harvest time. Because of the sword of the oppressor, each shall turn to his people, and each shall flee to his land.
Morphology
- כִּרְתוּ (kirtu) – Root: כרת; Form: Qal imperative 2nd masculine plural; Translation: “Cut off!”; Notes: Command to destroy or eliminate.
- זֹורֵעַ (zoreaʿ) – Root: זרע; Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “the sower”; Notes: Symbol of agricultural productivity removed from Babylon.
- מִבָּבֶל (mi-Bavel) – Root: בבל; Form: Preposition מִן + proper noun; Translation: “from Bavel”; Notes: Location of judgment.
- וְתֹפֵשׂ (ve-tofes) – Root: תפשׂ; Form: Qal participle masculine singular with conjunction; Translation: “and the one who handles”; Notes: Refers to worker wielding a tool.
- מַגָּל (maggal) – Root: מגל; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “sickle”; Notes: Harvesting instrument.
- בְּעֵת (be-ʿet) – Root: עת; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “at the time of”; Notes: Temporal marker.
- קָצִיר (qatshir) – Root: קצר; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “harvest”; Notes: Denotes the season of gathering crops.
- מִפְּנֵי (mi-penei) – Root: פנה; Form: Preposition מִן + plural construct noun; Translation: “because of”; Notes: Introduces cause or reason.
- חֶרֶב (ḥerev) – Root: חרב; Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “sword”; Notes: Symbol of war and destruction.
- הַיֹּונָה (ha-yona) – Root: יון / ינה (contextually from ינה “oppressor”); Form: Definite article + noun feminine singular; Translation: “the oppressor”; Notes: Some interpret as “the destroying sword.”
- אִישׁ (ʾish) – Root: אישׁ; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a man/each”; Notes: Refers to individuals.
- אֶל־עַמּוֹ (el-ʿammo) – Root: עם; Form: Preposition אֶל + noun masculine singular + 3rd masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to his people”; Notes: Refuge sought among one’s own nation.
- יִפְנוּ (yifnu) – Root: פנה; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd masculine plural; Translation: “they shall turn”; Notes: Expresses action of fleeing homeward.
- וְאִישׁ (ve-ʾish) – Root: אישׁ; Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and each man”; Notes: Parallelism reinforces universality.
- לְאַרְצֹו (le-artso) – Root: ארץ; Form: Preposition לְ + noun feminine singular + 3rd masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to his land”; Notes: Emphasizes return to homeland.
- יָנֻסוּ (yanusu) – Root: נוס; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd masculine plural; Translation: “they shall flee”; Notes: Expresses urgency of escape.