לָכֵ֞ן כֹּה־אָמַ֨ר אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִה֮ חַי־אָנִי֒ אִם־לֹ֗א אָֽלָתִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בָּזָ֔ה וּבְרִיתִ֖י אֲשֶׁ֣ר הֵפִ֑יר וּנְתַתִּ֖יו בְּרֹאשֹֽׁו׃
Therefore thus says the Lord YHWH: “As I live, surely my oath which he despised, and my covenant which he broke, I will place upon his head.
Morphology
- לָכֵן (lakhen) – Root: —; Form: Adverb; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: Introduces divine judgment based on previous actions.
- כֹּה (koh) – Root: —; Form: Adverb; Translation: “thus”; Notes: Typical formula in prophetic speech.
- אָמַר (amar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “says”; Notes: Part of the standard prophetic formula.
- אֲדֹנָי (ʾAdonai) – Root: אדן; Form: Noun of majesty; Translation: “Lord”; Notes: Title combined with YHWH.
- יְהוִה (YHWH) – Root: יהוה; Form: Proper divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Covenant name of Israel’s God.
- חַי (ḥai) – Root: חיה; Form: Adjective masculine singular absolute; Translation: “living”; Notes: Used in oath formula, “As I live.”
- אָנִי (ʾani) – Root: —; Form: Independent pronoun 1st person singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: YHWH is the speaker.
- אִם־לֹא (ʾim-lo) – Root: —; Form: Conditional particle with negation; Translation: “surely”; Notes: Legal oath expression intensifying the certainty of the statement.
- אָלָתִי (ʾalati) – Root: אלה; Form: Noun feminine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my oath”; Notes: YHWH’s sworn covenant oath.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: —; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “which”; Notes: Introduces the clause describing the object of contempt.
- בָּזָה (bazah) – Root: בזה; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “he despised”; Notes: Refers to despising YHWH’s oath.
- וּבְרִיתִי (u-beriti) – Root: ברית; Form: Conjunction + noun feminine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “and my covenant”; Notes: Refers to YHWH’s binding covenant agreement.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: —; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “which”; Notes: Introduces subordinate clause explaining what was broken.
- הֵפִיר (hefir) – Root: פרר; Form: Hiphil perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “he broke”; Notes: Emphasizes deliberate covenant violation.
- וּנְתַתִּיו (u-netattiv) – Root: נתן; Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “and I will place it”; Notes: Expresses YHWH’s judgment, placing the guilt on his head.
- בְּרֹאשֹׁו (be-rosho) – Root: ראשׁ; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular absolute + 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “upon his head”; Notes: Symbol of bearing personal responsibility and punishment.