לָכֵ֞ן כֹּה־אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה אִשְׁתְּךָ֞ בָּעִ֤יר תִּזְנֶה֙ וּבָנֶ֤יךָ וּבְנֹתֶ֨יךָ֙ בַּחֶ֣רֶב יִפֹּ֔לוּ וְאַדְמָתְךָ֖ בַּחֶ֣בֶל תְּחֻלָּ֑ק וְאַתָּ֗ה עַל־אֲדָמָ֤ה טְמֵאָה֙ תָּמ֔וּת וְיִ֨שְׂרָאֵ֔ל גָּלֹ֥ה יִגְלֶ֖ה מֵעַ֥ל אַדְמָתֹֽו׃ ס
Therefore thus says YHWH: ‘Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by the measuring line; and you, upon an unclean ground, shall die; and Yisraʾel shall surely go into exile away from his land.’”
Morphology
- לָכֵן (laken) – Root: —; Form: Adverb; Translation: “Therefore”; Notes: Introduces divine judgment as the logical consequence of Amatsyah’s opposition to YHWH’s word.
- כֹּה־אָמַר (koh-ʾamar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Demonstrative adverb + Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “Thus says”; Notes: Standard prophetic formula introducing an oracle from YHWH.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: הוה (havah); Form: Proper noun (divine name); Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Marks divine authorship and certainty of the coming punishment.
- אִשְׁתְּךָ (ishtekha) – Root: אשה (ʾishah); Form: Noun feminine singular + suffix 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “your wife”; Notes: A direct personal consequence for Amatsyah, symbolizing humiliation.
- בָּעִיר (baʿir) – Root: עיר (ʿir); Form: Preposition בְּ + definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “in the city”; Notes: The location emphasizes public shame.
- תִּזְנֶה (tizneh) – Root: זנה (zanah); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “shall become a prostitute”; Notes: Expresses disgrace and moral corruption as divine punishment.
- וּבָנֶיךָ (u-vanekha) – Root: בן (ben); Form: Conjunction וְ + noun masculine plural + suffix 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “and your sons”; Notes: Continues the list of personal afflictions—familial destruction.
- וּבְנֹתֶיךָ (u-venotekha) – Root: בת (bat); Form: Conjunction וְ + noun feminine plural + suffix 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “and your daughters”; Notes: Extends the calamity to the next generation.
- בַּחֶרֶב (baḥerev) – Root: חרב (ḥerev); Form: Preposition בְּ + definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “by the sword”; Notes: Denotes violent death in warfare or invasion.
- יִפֹּלוּ (yippolu) – Root: נפל (nafal); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “shall fall”; Notes: Figurative of dying in battle.
- וְאַדְמָתְךָ (ve-admatkha) – Root: אדמה (ʾadamah); Form: Conjunction וְ + noun feminine singular + suffix 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “and your land”; Notes: Points to the forfeiture of property and inheritance.
- בַּחֶבֶל (baḥevel) – Root: חבל (ḥevel); Form: Preposition בְּ + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “by the measuring line”; Notes: Suggests conquest—land surveyed and divided among new possessors.
- תְּחֻלָּק (teḥullaq) – Root: חלק (ḥalaq); Form: Pual imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “shall be divided”; Notes: Passive verb indicating forced redistribution of property.
- וְאַתָּה (ve-attah) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction וְ + pronoun masculine singular; Translation: “and you”; Notes: Emphatic second-person pronoun introducing personal fate of Amatsyah.
- עַל־אֲדָמָה (ʿal-ʾadamah) – Root: על (ʿal) + אדמה (ʾadamah); Form: Preposition עַל + noun feminine singular; Translation: “upon a ground”; Notes: Indicates location—Amatsyah’s death in exile.
- טְמֵאָה (tmeʾah) – Root: טמא (ṭamʾ); Form: Adjective feminine singular; Translation: “unclean”; Notes: Ceremonially impure land—outside the covenant boundary of YHWH’s people.
- תָּמוּת (tamuth) – Root: מות (mut); Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “you shall die”; Notes: The divine sentence of death outside the land of blessing.
- וְיִשְׂרָאֵל (ve-Yisraʾel) – Root: שרה (sarāh) + אל (ʾel); Form: Conjunction וְ + proper noun; Translation: “and Yisraʾel”; Notes: Refers to the nation as a whole, subject to the same exile judgment.
- גָּלֹה יִגְלֶה (galo yigleh) – Root: גלה (galah); Form: Infinitive absolute + Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “shall surely go into exile”; Notes: The repetition expresses certainty—YHWH’s decree is irrevocable.
- מֵעַל (meʿal) – Root: על (ʿal); Form: Preposition מִן + עַל; Translation: “from upon”; Notes: Indicates separation from possession or territory.
- אַדְמָתֹו (admatov) – Root: אדמה (ʾadamah); Form: Noun feminine singular + suffix 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “his land”; Notes: Refers to Yisraʾel’s expulsion from its covenant inheritance.