מָ֤ה אֲמֻלָה֙ לִבָּתֵ֔ךְ נְאֻ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֑ה בַּעֲשֹׂותֵךְ֙ אֶת־כָּל־אֵ֔לֶּה מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה אִשָּֽׁה־זֹונָ֖ה שַׁלָּֽטֶת׃
How weak is your heart,” declares the Lord YHWH, “when you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot woman.
Morphology
- מָה (mah) – Root: —; Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “how”; Notes: Introduces an exclamatory rhetorical question.
- אֲמֻלָה (ʾamulah) – Root: אמל (ʾamal); Form: Passive participle feminine singular; Translation: “weak”; Notes: Conveys a sense of being feeble, faint, or languishing.
- לִבָּתֵךְ (libbatekh) – Root: לבב (levav); Form: Noun masculine singular construct + 2nd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “your heart”; Notes: Refers to inner will, disposition, or moral strength.
- נְאֻם (neʾum) – Root: נאם (naʾam); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “utterance / declaration”; Notes: A technical prophetic formula introducing divine speech.
- אֲדֹנָי (ʾAdonai) – Root: אדן (ʾadon); Form: Noun masculine plural with 1st person singular suffix, used as a divine title; Translation: “my Lord”; Notes: When paired with YHWH, it emphasizes sovereignty.
- יְהוִה (YHWH) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Proper divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The covenantal name of Israel’s God.
- בַּעֲשֹׂותֵךְ (baʿasotekh) – Root: עשה (ʿasah); Form: Preposition + infinitive construct with 2nd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “when you do”; Notes: Marks the cause or circumstance of the addressed action.
- אֶת־כָּל־אֵלֶּה (et-kol-elleh) – Root: —; Form: Object marker + noun masculine singular “all” + demonstrative plural; Translation: “all these”; Notes: Refers to the abominable actions enumerated earlier.
- מַעֲשֵׂה (maʿaseh) – Root: עשה (ʿasah); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “deed / act”; Notes: General term for actions or practices.
- אִשָּׁה־זֹונָה (ishah-zonah) – Root: אשה (ishah) + זנה (zanah); Form: Noun feminine singular construct + noun feminine singular; Translation: “a harlot woman”; Notes: Metaphor for unfaithfulness, especially idolatry.
- שַׁלָּטֶת (shallatet) – Root: שׁלט (shalat); Form: Qal participle feminine singular; Translation: “brazen / domineering”; Notes: Suggests boldness without shame, a striking metaphor for Jerusalem’s conduct.