עַל־כֵּ֣ן תֶּאֱבַ֣ל הָאָ֗רֶץ וְאֻמְלַל֙ כָּל־יֹושֵׁ֣ב בָּ֔הּ בְּחַיַּ֥ת הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה וּבְעֹ֣וף הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְגַם־דְּגֵ֥י הַיָּ֖ם יֵאָסֵֽפוּ׃
Therefore the land shall mourn, and everyone who dwells in it shall languish, with the beast of the field and with the bird of the heavens; even the fish of the sea shall be gathered away.
Morphology
- עַל־כֵּן (ʿal-ken) – Root: כן (k-n); Form: Preposition עַל + adverbial particle; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: Introduces the consequence of Israel’s moral corruption described in the previous verses — divine judgment affecting creation.
- תֶּאֱבַל (teʾeval) – Root: אבל (ʾ-b-l); Form: Qal imperfect 3fs; Translation: “shall mourn”; Notes: The land (feminine subject) is personified as mourning — an image of ecological and cosmic grief resulting from human sin.
- הָאָרֶץ (haʾarets) – Root: ארץ (ʾ-r-ṣ); Form: Noun feminine singular with definite article; Translation: “the land”; Notes: Represents both the physical soil and the national territory — a theologically charged term for the covenant land.
- וְאֻמְלַל (veʾumlal) – Root: אמלל (ʾ-m-l-l); Form: Conjunction וְ + Pual perfect 3ms (used impersonally); Translation: “and shall languish”; Notes: Expresses physical and moral decay — “to wither” or “waste away.” The Pual stem adds a sense of being made feeble.
- כָּל־יֹושֵׁב (kol-yoshev) – Root: ישׁב (y-š-b); Form: Noun כָּל + Qal participle masculine singular construct; Translation: “everyone who dwells”; Notes: Collective participle referring to all inhabitants — humans who share the land’s fate due to covenantal guilt.
- בָּהּ (bah) – Root: —; Form: Preposition בְּ + pronominal suffix 3fs; Translation: “in it”; Notes: Refers to the land (feminine antecedent) — those who dwell within her boundaries.
- בְּחַיַּת (beḥayyat) – Root: חיה (ḥ-y-h); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine singular construct; Translation: “with the beast of”; Notes: Introduces the first category of creatures affected by divine judgment — the wild animals.
- הַשָּׂדֶה (hasadeh) – Root: שׂדה (ś-d-h); Form: Noun masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the field”; Notes: Represents open country — domain of untamed nature, now suffering alongside humanity.
- וּבְעֹוף (u-veʿof) – Root: עוף (ʿ-w-p); Form: Conjunction וּ + preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and with the bird”; Notes: Extends the ecological mourning to the skies — a total cosmic collapse.
- הַשָּׁמָיִם (hashamayim) – Root: שׁמה (š-m-h); Form: Noun masculine plural with definite article; Translation: “of the heavens”; Notes: Refers to the atmospheric realm — even the birds of heaven are not spared the effects of human transgression.
- וְגַם (ve-gam) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction and adverb; Translation: “and even”; Notes: Intensifier marking escalation — even aquatic life will perish, completing the threefold sphere (land, air, sea).
- דְּגֵי (degei) – Root: דגה (d-g-h); Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “fish of”; Notes: Collective for all marine life — rare in prophetic texts, showing totality of the coming devastation.
- הַיָּם (hayyam) – Root: ים (y-m); Form: Noun masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the sea”; Notes: Completes the cosmic scope of the prophecy — all creation is affected by covenant violation.
- יֵאָסֵפוּ (yeʾasefu) – Root: אסף (ʾ-s-p); Form: Niphal imperfect 3mp; Translation: “shall be gathered away”; Notes: Euphemism for perishing — often used of death or disappearance. Creation itself recoils as moral and ecological order disintegrates.