מִנְּזָרַ֨יִךְ֙ כָּֽאַרְבֶּ֔ה וְטַפְסְרַ֖יִךְ כְּגֹ֣וב גֹּבָ֑י הַֽחֹונִ֤ים בַּגְּדֵרֹות֙ בְּיֹ֣ום קָרָ֔ה שֶׁ֤מֶשׁ זָֽרְחָה֙ וְנֹודַ֔ד וְלֹֽא־נֹודַ֥ע מְקֹומֹ֖ו אַיָּֽם׃
Your crowned ones are like the locust and your officials like a swarm of grasshoppers sitting on the walls on a cold day. The sun rises and it is scattered and its place is not known where they are.
Morphology
- מִנְּזָרַיִךְ (minnezarayikh) — Root: נזר (nazar); Form: Noun masculine plural + suffix 2fs; Translation: “your crowned ones”; Notes: Refers to nobles or high officials wearing diadems.
- כָּאַרְבֶּה (ka-arbeh) — Root: ארבה (arbeh); Form: Preposition כְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “like the locust”; Notes: Locust imagery highlights their overwhelming number.
- וְטַפְסְרַיִךְ (ve-tafserayikh) — Root: טפסר (tafsar); Form: Noun masculine plural + suffix 2fs; Translation: “and your officials”; Notes: High-ranking officers or scribal administrators.
- כְּגֹוב (ke-gov) — Root: גוב (gov); Form: Preposition כְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “like a swarm”; Notes: A mass of insects.
- גֹּבָי (govai) — Root: גוב (gov); Form: Noun masculine plural (collective); Translation: “grasshoppers”; Notes: A species similar to locusts.
- הַחֹונִים (ha-ḥonim) — Root: חנה (ḥanah); Form: Definite article הַ + Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “those sitting”; Notes: Depicts insects clustering together.
- בַּגְּדֵרֹות (ba-gderot) — Root: גדר (gadar); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun feminine plural; Translation: “on the walls”; Notes: Refers to city walls, metaphor for Nineveh’s defenses.
- בְּיֹום (be-yom) — Root: יום (yom); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “on a day”; Notes: Introduces the circumstance.
- קָרָה (qarah) — Root: קרר (qarar); Form: Adjective feminine singular; Translation: “cold”; Notes: Cold weather causes insects to cluster motionless.
- שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh) — Root: שׁמשׁ (shemesh); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “the sun”; Notes: Subject of the following verbs.
- זָרְחָה (zarḥah) — Root: זרח (zaraḥ); Form: Qal perfect 3fs; Translation: “has risen”; Notes: Describes the moment of change.
- וְנֹודַד (ve-nodad) — Root: נדד (nadad); Form: Niphal perfect 3ms; Translation: “and it is scattered”; Notes: Refers to the insects scattering when warmed.
- וְלֹא־נֹודַע (ve-lo-nodaʿ) — Root: ידע (yadaʿ); Form: Niphal perfect 3ms with negative; Translation: “and its place is not known”; Notes: Complete disappearance.
- מְקֹומֹו (mekomo) — Root: קום (qum); Form: Noun masculine singular + suffix 3ms; Translation: “its place”; Notes: Refers to where the swarm had sat.
- אַיָּם (ayyam) — Root: אי (ʾay); Form: Interrogative adverb; Translation: “where?”; Notes: Rhetorical—no one can find them.