אֱלִ֕י כִּבְתוּלָ֥ה חֲגֻֽרַת־שַׂ֖ק עַל־בַּ֥עַל נְעוּרֶֽיהָ׃
Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
Morphology
- אֱלִי (ʾeli) – Root: ילל; Form: Qal imperative feminine singular; Translation: “lament”; Notes: A direct command addressed in the feminine singular—calling the “daughter of Tsion” or the nation to weep as a bereaved woman.
- כִּ (ki) – Root: כ; Form: Preposition of comparison כְּ; Translation: “like”; Notes: Introduces a simile comparing the nation’s mourning to that of a bereaved virgin.
- בְתוּלָה (betulah) – Root: בתל; Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “virgin”; Notes: Represents purity and innocence; here symbolizes Yisraʾel mourning as a young bride-to-be deprived of her groom.
- חֲגֻרַת (ḥagurat) – Root: חגר; Form: Passive participle feminine singular construct; Translation: “girded with”; Notes: Describes being clothed or wrapped—especially with sackcloth as a sign of mourning.
- שַׂק (saq) – Root: שׂק; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “sackcloth”; Notes: Garment of coarse material used for mourning, repentance, or humiliation.
- עַל (ʿal) – Root: על; Form: Preposition; Translation: “for,” “over”; Notes: Indicates the cause or object of mourning—“for the husband of her youth.”
- בַּעַל (baʿal) – Root: בעל; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “husband”; Notes: Literally “owner” or “master,” but here used in the sense of spouse or betrothed partner.
- נְעוּרֶיהָ (neʿureha) – Root: נער; Form: Noun masculine plural construct + suffix 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “of her youth”; Notes: Refers to the time of early love or betrothal; conveys tenderness and intimacy lost through calamity.