Amos 9:4

וְאִם־יֵלְכ֤וּ בַשְּׁבִי֙ לִפְנֵ֣י אֹֽיבֵיהֶ֔ם מִשָּׁ֛ם אֲצַוֶּ֥ה אֶת־הַחֶ֖רֶב וַהֲרָגָ֑תַם וְשַׂמְתִּ֨י עֵינִ֧י עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם לְרָעָ֖ה וְלֹ֥א לְטֹובָֽה׃

And if they go into captivity before their enemies, from there I will command the sword and it shall slay them, and I will set My eye upon them for evil and not for good.”

Morphology

1. וְאִם (ve-ʾim) – Root: אם (ʾim); Form: Conjunction וְ + conditional particle; Translation: “and if”; Notes: Continues the sequence of hypothetical scenarios showing YHWH’s inescapable judgment.
2. יֵלְכוּ (yelᵉkhu) – Root: הלך (halakh); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they go”; Notes: Refers to movement under compulsion—going into captivity.
3. בַּשְּׁבִי (ba-shevi) – Root: שׁבה (shavah); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “into captivity”; Notes: Indicates being taken as prisoners of war.
4. לִפְנֵי (lifnei) – Root: פנה (panah); Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “before”; Notes: Means “into the presence of,” i.e., in front of their conquerors.
5. אֹיבֵיהֶם (ʾoyveihem) – Root: איב (ʾayav); Form: Noun masculine plural construct + suffix 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “their enemies”; Notes: Refers to foreign nations capturing them.
6. מִשָּׁם (mi-sham) – Root: שׁם (sham); Form: Preposition מִן + adverb; Translation: “from there”; Notes: Even in captivity, they cannot escape divine judgment.
7. אֲצַוֶּה (aʿatsaveh) – Root: צוה (tsavah); Form: Piel imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I will command”; Notes: Piel indicates an authoritative, intensive command from YHWH.
8. אֶת־הַחֶרֶב (et-ha-ḥerev) – Root: חרב (ḥerev); Form: Direct object marker + definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “the sword”; Notes: The sword is personified as YHWH’s agent of judgment.
9. וַהֲרָגָתַם (va-haragātam) – Root: הרג (harag); Form: Conjunction וְ + Qal infinitive construct + suffix 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “and it shall slay them”; Notes: Infinitive construct used with vav to indicate result of the divine command.
10. וְשַׂמְתִּי (ve-samti) – Root: שׂים (sim); Form: Conjunction וְ + Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “and I will set”; Notes: Indicates deliberate divine attention.
11. עֵינִי (ʿeini) – Root: עין (ʿayin); Form: Noun feminine plural + suffix 1st person singular; Translation: “My eye”; Notes: Anthropomorphic feature expressing watchfulness.
12. עֲלֵיהֶם (ʿaleihem) – Root: עַל (ʿal); Form: Preposition עַל + suffix 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “upon them”; Notes: They are the objects of YHWH’s focused attention.
13. לְרָעָה (le-raʿah) – Root: רעע (raʿaʿ); Form: Preposition לְ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “for evil”; Notes: Indicates harmful intent—judgment rather than blessing.
14. וְלֹא (ve-lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Conjunction וְ + negative particle; Translation: “and not”; Notes: Strong contrast to the next phrase.
15. לְטוֹבָה (le-tovah) – Root: טוב (tov); Form: Preposition לְ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “for good”; Notes: YHWH explicitly denies favor or blessing in this judgment.