כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֖ר אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֑ה רָעָ֛ה אַחַ֥ת רָעָ֖ה הִנֵּ֥ה בָאָֽה׃
“Thus says my Lord YHWH: ‘Evil, one evil, behold, it is coming.
Morphology
- כֹּה (koh) – Root: כה; Form: Demonstrative adverb; Translation: “thus”; Notes: Standard prophetic formula introducing a direct divine utterance.
- אָמַר (ʾamar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “says/said”; Notes: In the prophetic idiom “כֹּה אָמַר,” the perfect conveys a performative present: “thus says.”
- אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonai) – Root: אדן; Form: Divine title functioning as a proper name; Translation: “my Lord”; Notes: When paired with the Tetragrammaton, render as “my Lord YHWH,” distinguishing Adonai (“Lord”) from the divine name.
- יְהוִה (YHWH) – Root: הוה/היה; Form: Proper divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Covenant name; pointed in Ezekiel with ḥireq to avoid repetition with Adonai.
- רָעָה (raʿah) – Root: רעע; Form: Noun, feminine singular absolute; Translation: “evil, disaster”; Notes: Often denotes calamity/judgment rather than moral evil in prophetic contexts.
- אַחַת (ʾaḥat) – Root: אחד; Form: Cardinal numeral, feminine singular; Translation: “one”; Notes: Appositional intensifier: “one singular calamity,” heightening the threat.
- רָעָה (raʿah) – Root: רעע; Form: Noun, feminine singular absolute (repetition); Translation: “evil, disaster”; Notes: Repetition adds rhetorical force and urgency.
- הִנֵּה (hinneh) – Root: נה (deictic particle); Form: Interjection/deictic particle; Translation: “behold”; Notes: Marks immediacy and draws attention to the ensuing action/state.
- בָאָה (baʾah) – Root: בוא; Form: Qal participle feminine singular (contextually present/imminent); Translation: “is coming”; Notes: Feminine agreement with רָעָה; with הִנֵּה, the participle conveys imminence: “behold, it is coming.”