כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה יַ֚עַן אֹמְרִ֣ים לָכֶ֔ם אֹכֶ֥לֶת אָדָ֖ם אַתְּ וּמְשַׁכֶּ֥לֶת גּוֹיִךְ הָיִֽית׃
Thus says the Lord YHWH: ‘Because they say of you, “You devour men and have been a bereaver of your nations,”
Morphology
- כֹּה (koh) – Root: —; Form: Demonstrative particle; Translation: “Thus”; Notes: Standard prophetic formula introducing divine speech.
- אָמַר (ʾamar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “has said”; Notes: The typical verb introducing YHWH’s declaration.
- אֲדֹנָי (Adonai) – Root: אדן (ʾadon); Form: Noun masculine plural of majesty; Translation: “my Lord”; Notes: Title expressing divine authority.
- יְהוִה (YHWH) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Proper divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The covenantal name of the God of Yisraʾel.
- יַעַן (yaʿan) – Root: —; Form: Causal particle; Translation: “Because”; Notes: Introduces the reason for the divine statement that follows.
- אֹמְרִים (ʾomrim) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “they say”; Notes: Denotes ongoing or repeated speech by others about the land.
- לָכֶם (la-khem) – Root: —; Form: Preposition לְ + pronominal suffix 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “of you” or “to you”; Notes: Refers to the land of Yisraʾel being spoken of by the nations.
- אֹכֶלֶת (okhelet) – Root: אכל (ʾakhal); Form: Qal feminine singular participle; Translation: “devouring”; Notes: Describes the land metaphorically as consuming its inhabitants.
- אָדָם (adam) – Root: אדם (adam); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “man” or “people”; Notes: Refers collectively to human beings or inhabitants of the land.
- אַתְּ (ʾat) – Root: —; Form: Independent pronoun feminine singular; Translation: “you”; Notes: Addressed to the land, personified in feminine grammatical form.
- וּמְשַׁכֶּלֶת (u-meshakkelet) – Root: שׁכל (shakal); Form: Conjunction וְ + Piel feminine singular participle; Translation: “and bereaving”; Notes: Describes the land as causing loss of children or inhabitants, intensifying the imagery of desolation.
- גּוֹיִךְ (goyikh) – Root: גוי (goy); Form: Noun masculine plural + suffix 2nd person feminine singular; Translation: “your nations”; Notes: Refers to the peoples or tribes that dwell within the land’s borders.
- הָיִית (hayit) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal perfect 2nd person feminine singular; Translation: “you have been”; Notes: Describes the land’s condition as formerly destructive to its own inhabitants.