וְהָפַכְתִּ֨י חַגֵּיכֶ֜ם לְאֵ֗בֶל וְכָל־שִֽׁירֵיכֶם֙ לְקִינָ֔ה וְהַעֲלֵיתִ֤י עַל־כָּל־מָתְנַ֨יִם֙ שָׂ֔ק וְעַל־כָּל־רֹ֖אשׁ קָרְחָ֑ה וְשַׂמְתִּ֨יהָ֙ כְּאֵ֣בֶל יָחִ֔יד וְאַחֲרִיתָ֖הּ כְּיֹ֥ום מָֽר׃
And I will turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation, and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head, and I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day.
Morphology
- וְהָפַכְתִּי (ve-hafakhti) – Root: הפך (hafakh); Form: Conjunction וְ + Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “and I will turn”; Notes: A decisive divine reversal of joy into grief.
- חַגֵּיכֶם (ḥaggeikhem) – Root: חגג (ḥagag); Form: Noun masculine plural + suffix 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “your festivals”; Notes: Refers to appointed feasts that will be transformed into mourning.
- לְאֵבֶל (le-ʾevel) – Root: אבל (ʾaval); Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “into mourning”; Notes: Indicates transformation from celebration to lament.
- וְכָל־ (ve-khol) – Root: כל (kol); Form: Conjunction וְ + noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “and all”; Notes: Introduces a second area of transformation.
- שִׁירֵיכֶם (shireikhem) – Root: שיר (shir); Form: Noun masculine plural construct + suffix 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “your songs”; Notes: Joyous songs turned into laments.
- לְקִינָה (le-qinah) – Root: קונ (qinah); Form: Preposition לְ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “into lamentation”; Notes: A dirge, often used for funerary mourning.
- וְהַעֲלֵיתִי (ve-haʿaleiti) – Root: עלה (ʿalah); Form: Conjunction וְ + Hifil perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “and I will bring up”; Notes: Hifil expresses causation—YHWH causes the mourning rites to come upon the people.
- עַל־ (ʿal) – Root: על (ʿal); Form: Preposition; Translation: “upon”; Notes: Introduces objects receiving signs of mourning.
- כָּל־מָתְנַיִם (khol-matnayim) – Root: מתן (matan); Form: Noun masculine dual construct; Translation: “all loins”; Notes: Sackcloth around the loins is a standard mourning practice.
- שָׂק (saq) – Root: שׂקק (saqaq); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “sackcloth”; Notes: A rough mourning garment symbolizing grief and humiliation.
- וְעַל־ (ve-ʿal) – Root: על (ʿal); Form: Conjunction וְ + preposition עַל; Translation: “and upon”; Notes: Continues the list of mourning signs.
- כָּל־רֹאשׁ (khol-rosh) – Root: ראשׁ (rosh); Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “every head”; Notes: Indicates that the mourning affects all individuals without exception.
- קָרְחָה (qarḥah) – Root: קרח (qarach); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “baldness”; Notes: Shaving the head as an expression of profound mourning.
- וְשַׂמְתִּיהָ (ve-samtihah) – Root: שׂים (sim); Form: Conjunction וְ + Qal perfect 1st person singular + suffix 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “and I will make it”; Notes: Refers to turning the nation’s state into deep mourning.
- כְּאֵבֶל (ke-ʾevel) – Root: אבל (ʾaval); Form: Preposition כְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “like the mourning of”; Notes: Compares the judgment to the most intense form of grief.
- יָחִיד (yaḥid) – Root: יחד (yaḥad); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “an only son”; Notes: Evokes catastrophic, heart-rending mourning.
- וְאַחֲרִיתָהּ (ve-aḥaritah) – Root: אחר (aḥar); Form: Conjunction וְ + noun feminine singular + suffix 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “and its end”; Notes: Refers to the final outcome for the nation.
- כְּיֹום (ke-yom) – Root: יום (yom); Form: Preposition כְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “like a day”; Notes: Introduces the simile describing the nature of the end.
- מָר (mar) – Root: מרר (marar); Form: Adjective masculine singular; Translation: “bitter”; Notes: Characterizes the nation’s end as harsh, sorrowful, and devastating.