וְהָלַ֥ךְ מַלְכָּ֖ם בַּגֹּולָ֑ה ה֧וּא וְשָׂרָ֛יו יַחְדָּ֖ו אָמַ֥ר יְהוָֽה׃ פ
And their king shall go into exile, he and his princes together,” says YHWH.
Morphology
- וְהָלַ֥ךְ (ve-halak) – Root: הלך (halakh); Form: Conjunction + Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he shall go”; Notes: Expresses the inevitable consequence of divine judgment—exile or captivity.
- מַלְכָּ֖ם (malkam) – Root: מלך (melek); Form: Noun masculine singular + suffix 3mp; Translation: “their king”; Notes: Could refer to either the human ruler of ʿAmmon or the Ammonite deity *Milkom*, depending on interpretive tradition. Both readings underscore the fall of authority.
- בַּגֹּולָ֑ה (ba-golah) – Root: גלה (galah); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “into exile”; Notes: Refers to deportation or captivity, a common punishment motif for nations opposing YHWH’s people.
- ה֧וּא (hu) – Root: —; Form: Independent pronoun masculine singular; Translation: “he”; Notes: Emphasizes that the king himself will share the fate of his people, showing no immunity to judgment.
- וְשָׂרָ֛יו (ve-sarav) – Root: שר (sar); Form: Conjunction + noun masculine plural + suffix 3ms; Translation: “and his princes”; Notes: Denotes the royal officials or leaders; all ranks of authority fall together under divine decree.
- יַחְדָּ֖ו (yaḥdav) – Root: יחד (yaḥad); Form: Adverb; Translation: “together”; Notes: Stresses collective downfall—royalty and leadership share the same destiny of exile.
- אָמַ֥ר (ʾamar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “has said”; Notes: Standard prophetic formula introducing divine speech or decree.
- יְהוָֽה׃ (YHWH) – Root: יהוה (YHWH); Form: Proper noun, Tetragrammaton; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The covenant God of Yisraʾel who executes justice over all nations. The final position affirms the divine authority behind the prophecy.