וַֽאֲנִי֙ לֹ֣א אָח֔וּס עַל־נִינְוֵ֖ה הָעִ֣יר הַגְּדֹולָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֶשׁ־בָּ֡הּ הַרְבֵּה֩ מִֽשְׁתֵּים־עֶשְׂרֵ֨ה רִבֹּ֜ו אָדָ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־יָדַע֙ בֵּין־יְמִינֹ֣ו לִשְׂמֹאלֹ֔ו וּבְהֵמָ֖ה רַבָּֽה׃
And shall not I pity Nineve, the great city, in which there are more than twelve myriads of humans, who do not know between their right and their left, and much livestock?”
Morphology
- וַאֲנִי (va-ʾani) – Root: אני (ʾani); Form: Conjunction + independent pronoun 1cs; Translation: “And I”; Notes: Contrasts YHWH’s perspective with Yonah’s.
- לֹא (lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the rhetorical question.
- אָחוּס (aḥus) – Root: חוס (ḥus); Form: Qal imperfect 1cs; Translation: “shall I pity”; Notes: Expresses divine compassion.
- עַל־נִינְוֵה (ʿal-Ninveh) – Root: נינוה (Ninveh); Form: Preposition עַל + proper noun; Translation: “upon / over Ninveh”; Notes: City that received mercy.
- הָעִיר (ha-ʿir) – Root: עיר (ʿir); Form: Definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “the city”; Notes: Appositional descriptor of Ninveh.
- הַגְּדֹולָה (ha-gedolah) – Root: גדל (gadal); Form: Definite adjective feminine singular; Translation: “the great”; Notes: Highlights Ninveh’s size and importance.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: אשׁר (ʾasher); Form: Relative particle; Translation: “which”; Notes: Introduces clause describing the populace.
- יֶשׁ־בָּהּ (yesh-bah) – Root: ישׁ (yesh); Form: Existential particle + preposition בְּ + suffix 3fs; Translation: “there are in it”; Notes: Marks existence within Ninveh.
- הַרְבֵּה (harbeh) – Root: רבה (ravah); Form: Adverb; Translation: “many”; Notes: Indicates magnitude of population.
- מִשְׁתֵּים־עֶשְׂרֵה (mi-shteim-esreh) – Root: שׁתים / עשר (shtayim / eser); Form: Preposition מִן + numeral; Translation: “more than twelve”; Notes: Part of population total.
- רִבּוֹ (ribbo) – Root: רבב (ravav); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a myriad / ten thousand”; Notes: Indicates numerical unit.
- אָדָם (adam) – Root: אדם (adam); Form: Noun masculine singular collective; Translation: “humans”; Notes: Refers to general population, not one person.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: אשׁר (ʾasher); Form: Relative particle; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces moral description.
- לֹא־יָדַע (lo-yadaʿ) – Root: ידע (yadaʿ); Form: Negative particle לֹא + Qal perfect 3ms; Translation: “does not know”; Notes: Describes innocence or ignorance.
- בֵּין־יְמִינוֹ (bein-yemino) – Root: בין / ימין (bein / yamin); Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular + suffix 3ms; Translation: “between his right”; Notes: Part of idiom for moral discernment.
- לִשְׂמֹאלוֹ (lisemolo) – Root: שׂמאל (semol); Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine singular + suffix 3ms; Translation: “and his left”; Notes: Completes idiom for moral ignorance.
- וּבְהֵמָה (u-vehemah) – Root: בהמה (behemah); Form: Conjunction + noun feminine singular collective; Translation: “and livestock”; Notes: Emphasizes creation-wide mercy.
- רַבָּה (rabbah) – Root: רבה (ravah); Form: Adjective feminine singular; Translation: “much”; Notes: Highlights abundance of animals in Ninveh.