הַהֹפְכִ֥ים לְלַעֲנָ֖ה מִשְׁפָּ֑ט וּצְדָקָ֖ה לָאָ֥רֶץ הִנִּֽיחוּ׃
Those who turn judgment into wormwood and cast righteousness to the earth.
Morphology
- הַהֹפְכִים (ha-hopekhim) – Root: הפך (hafakh); Form: Definite article הַ + Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “those who turn”; Notes: Refers to people perverting justice—changing what is good into bitterness.
- לְלַעֲנָה (le-laʿanah) – Root: לענה (laʿanah); Form: Preposition לְ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “into wormwood”; Notes: Symbol of bitterness and moral corruption, indicating the distortion of justice into poison.
- מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) – Root: שׁפט (shafat); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “justice”; Notes: Refers to the divine or social order of fairness that has been perverted.
- וּצְדָקָה (u-tsedaqah) – Root: צדק (tsadaq); Form: Conjunction וְ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “and righteousness”; Notes: Paired with “justice,” representing moral and ethical integrity expected by YHWH.
- לָאָרֶץ (la-ʾarets) – Root: ארץ (ʾerets); Form: Preposition לְ + definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “to the earth”; Notes: Suggests that righteousness has been cast down, trampled, or disregarded in the land.
- הִנִּיחוּ (hinniḥu) – Root: נוח (nuach); Form: Hifil perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they have laid” or “they have cast”; Notes: Expresses deliberate abandonment of righteousness, as if placing it low to be forgotten or despised.