וְהָי֥וּ שָׁמֶ֛יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־רֹאשְׁךָ֖ נְחֹ֑שֶׁת וְהָאָ֥רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־תַּחְתֶּ֖יךָ בַּרְזֶֽל׃
And your heavens that are over your head will be bronze, and the earth that is under you will be iron.
Morphology
- וְהָי֥וּ (vehāyū) – Root: היה (hāyāh); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person plural with vav-consecutive; Translation: “And they will be”; Notes: Introduces the result of disobedience.
- שָׁמֶ֛יךָ (shāmekha) – Root: שָׁמַיִם (shāmayim); Form: Noun, masculine plural construct with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “your heavens”; Notes: Refers to the sky above the individual.
- אֲשֶׁ֥ר (asher) – Root: אשר (asher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “that” or “which”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause describing the heavens.
- עַל־רֹאשְׁךָ֖ (ʿal-roshkha) – Root: על (ʿal) + ראשׁ (rosh); Form: Preposition + noun, masculine singular construct with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “over your head”; Notes: Specifies the location of the heavens.
- נְחֹ֑שֶׁת (neḥoshet) – Root: נחשׁת (neḥoshet); Form: Noun, feminine singular; Translation: “bronze”; Notes: Symbolizes hardness and the withholding of rain.
- וְהָאָ֥רֶץ (vehāʾāretz) – Root: ארץ (ʾāretz); Form: Noun, feminine singular with conjunction; Translation: “and the earth”; Notes: Refers to the ground beneath.
- אֲשֶׁר־תַּחְתֶּ֖יךָ (asher-taḥtekha) – Root: תחת (taḥat); Form: Relative pronoun + preposition with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “that is under you”; Notes: Describes the earth’s position relative to the individual.
- בַּרְזֶֽל (barzel) – Root: ברזל (barzel); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “iron”; Notes: Indicates unyielding and infertile ground, emphasizing the curse’s severity.