אֱמָר־נָא֙ לְבֵ֣ית הַמֶּ֔רִי הֲלֹ֥א יְדַעְתֶּ֖ם מָה־אֵ֑לֶּה אֱמֹ֗ר הִנֵּה־בָ֨א מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֤ל יְרוּשָׁלִַ֨ם֙ וַיִּקַּ֤ח אֶת־מַלְכָּהּ֙ וְאֶת־שָׂרֶ֔יהָ וַיָּבֵ֥א אֹותָ֛ם אֵלָ֖יו בָּבֶֽלָה׃
Say now to the house of rebellion: Do you not know what these are? Say: Behold, the king of Bavel has come to Yerushalayim and has taken its king and its princes and has brought them to him, to Bavel.
Morphology
- אֱמָר (ʾemar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal imperative 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “Say”; Notes: Prophetic command to speak forth the message.
- נָא (na) – Root: —; Form: Particle of entreaty; Translation: “now, please”; Notes: Softens the imperative, common in prophetic instructions.
- לְבֵית (le-beit) – Root: בית; Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “to the house of”; Notes: Introduces the audience of the rebuke.
- הַמֶּרִי (ha-meri) – Root: מרה; Form: Noun masculine singular absolute with definite article; Translation: “rebellion”; Notes: Refers to rebellious Israel/Judah.
- הֲלֹא (halo) – Root: —; Form: Interrogative particle; Translation: “is it not”; Notes: Introduces rhetorical question.
- יְדַעְתֶּם (yedaʿtem) – Root: ידע; Form: Qal perfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “you have known”; Notes: Directly challenges their understanding.
- מָה (mah) – Root: —; Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “what”; Notes: Questions recognition of the vision/symbols.
- אֵלֶּה (elleh) – Root: —; Form: Demonstrative pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “these”; Notes: Refers to the parabolic images given earlier.
- אֱמֹר (ʾemor) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal imperative 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “Say”; Notes: Repetition emphasizes the necessity of proclamation.
- הִנֵּה (hinneh) – Root: הנה; Form: Interjection; Translation: “behold”; Notes: Attention-getting particle introducing the explanation.
- בָא (ba) – Root: בוא; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “has come”; Notes: Refers to the arrival of the Babylonian king.
- מֶלֶךְ־ (melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “king of”; Notes: Construct chain leading to Bavel.
- בָּבֶל (Bavel) – Root: בלל; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Bavel”; Notes: Scholarly transliteration for Babylon.
- יְרוּשָׁלִַם (Yerushalayim) – Root: —; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yerushalayim”; Notes: City central to the prophetic event.
- וַיִּקַּח (va-yiqqaḥ) – Root: לקח; Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he took”; Notes: Refers to the deportation.
- אֶת־ (ʾet) – Root: —; Form: Particle marking definite object; Translation: “(marks the object)”; Notes: Introduces the direct object “its king.”
- מַלְכָּהּ (malkah) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun masculine singular with 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “its king”; Notes: Refers to the king of Yerushalayim/Judah.
- וְאֶת־ (ve-ʾet) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction + direct object marker; Translation: “and (the)”; Notes: Links the next object.
- שָׂרֶיהָ (sareha) – Root: שרר; Form: Noun masculine plural with 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “its princes”; Notes: Designates the ruling officials of the city.
- וַיָּבֵא (va-yave) – Root: בוא; Form: Hiphil wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he brought”; Notes: Causative stem emphasizes the king’s act of deportation.
- אֹותָם (otam) – Root: את; Form: Direct object pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to king and princes together.
- אֵלָיו (elav) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition + 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Indicates they were taken under his control.
- בָּבֶלָה (Bavelah) – Root: בלל; Form: Proper noun with locative ה ending; Translation: “to Bavel”; Notes: Locative ending marks destination of exile.