וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ אֵלַ֖י הָעָ֑ם הֲלֹֽא־תַגִּ֥יד לָ֨נוּ֙ מָה־אֵ֣לֶּה לָּ֔נוּ כִּ֥י אַתָּ֖ה עֹשֶֽׂה׃
And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things are to us, that you are doing?”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמְרוּ (va-yomru) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “And they said”; Notes: Marks narrative continuation, the people responding.
- אֵלַי (elai) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition אֶל + first person singular suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Direct address to Yeḥezqel.
- הָעָם (ha-ʿam) – Root: עם (ʿam); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the people”; Notes: Refers to the community observing the prophet’s actions.
- הֲלֹא (halo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Interrogative particle + negative; Translation: “Will not…?”; Notes: Introduces a rhetorical question with expectation of affirmation.
- תַגִּיד (taggid) – Root: נגד (nagad); Form: Hiphil imperfect 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “you tell/declare”; Notes: Causative—make known or explain.
- לָנוּ (lanu) – Root: ל (lamed, “to”); Form: Preposition לְ + first person common plural suffix; Translation: “to us”; Notes: The people seek clarification.
- מָה (mah) – Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “what”; Notes: Questions the meaning of Yeḥezqel’s actions.
- אֵלֶּה (elleh) – Form: Demonstrative pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “these”; Notes: Refers to the symbolic actions performed by the prophet.
- לָּנוּ (lanu) – Root: ל (lamed, “to”); Form: Preposition לְ + first person common plural suffix; Translation: “to us”; Notes: Indicates the relevance of the sign-act to the people.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for / because”; Notes: Introduces the reason for their inquiry.
- אַתָּה (attah) – Form: Independent pronoun, 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “you”; Notes: Directly addresses Yeḥezqel.
- עֹשֶׂה (ʿoseh) – Root: עשׂה (ʿasah); Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “are doing”; Notes: Present participle emphasizes the prophet’s ongoing action.