וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַי֮ הֲרָאִ֣יתָ בֶן־אָדָם֒ אֲשֶׁ֨ר זִקְנֵ֤י בֵֽית־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ עֹשִׂ֣ים בַּחֹ֔שֶׁךְ אִ֖ישׁ בְּחַדְרֵ֣י מַשְׂכִּיתֹ֑ו כִּ֣י אֹמְרִ֗ים אֵ֤ין יְהוָה֙ רֹאֶ֣ה אֹתָ֔נוּ עָזַ֥ב יְהוָ֖ה אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
And he said to me, “Have you seen, son of man, what the elders of the house of Yisraʾel are doing in the dark, each man in the chambers of his images? For they are saying, ‘YHWH does not see us, YHWH has abandoned the land.’”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3ms; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Marks continuation of divine speech.
- אֵלַי (elay) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition + 1cs suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Ezekiel is the addressee.
- הֲרָאִיתָ (ha-raʾita) – Root: ראה; Form: Qal perfect 2ms interrogative; Translation: “Have you seen?”; Notes: Direct question to the prophet.
- בֶן־אָדָם (ben-adam) – Root: בן, אדם; Form: Construct chain; Translation: “son of man”; Notes: Common divine address to Ezekiel.
- אֲשֶׁר (asher) – Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “what/that”; Notes: Introduces the relative clause.
- זִקְנֵי (ziqnei) – Root: זקן; Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “elders of”; Notes: Refers to leaders of Yisraʾel.
- בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל (beit-Yisraʾel) – Root: בית, ישראל; Form: Construct chain; Translation: “house of Yisraʾel”; Notes: Denotes the covenant community.
- עֹשִׂים (osim) – Root: עשה; Form: Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “are doing”; Notes: Continuous present action.
- בַּחֹשֶׁךְ (ba-ḥoshekh) – Root: חשׁך; Form: Preposition בְּ + article + noun masculine singular; Translation: “in the dark”; Notes: Location of their idolatrous acts.
- אִישׁ (ish) – Root: אישׁ; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “each man”; Notes: Refers to individuals among the elders.
- בְּחַדְרֵי (be-ḥadrei) – Root: חדר; Form: Preposition בְּ + construct masculine plural; Translation: “in the chambers of”; Notes: Refers to inner private rooms.
- מַשְׂכִּיתוֹ (maskito) – Root: שׂכה; Form: Noun feminine singular + 3ms suffix; Translation: “his images”; Notes: Refers to engraved or idolatrous imagery.
- כִּי (ki) – Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for/because”; Notes: Introduces the reason clause.
- אֹמְרִים (omrim) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “they are saying”; Notes: Continuous speech act of the elders.
- אֵין (ein) – Form: Negative particle of existence; Translation: “there is not”; Notes: Denies divine perception.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: divine name; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Sacred Tetragrammaton.
- רֹאֶה (roʾeh) – Root: ראה; Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “seeing”; Notes: Present tense participle of divine action denied by the elders.
- אֹתָנוּ (otanu) – Root: את; Form: Object marker + 1cp suffix; Translation: “us”; Notes: Object of perception being denied.
- עָזַב (ʿazav) – Root: עזב; Form: Qal perfect 3ms; Translation: “has abandoned”; Notes: Elders’ claim of divine desertion.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: divine name; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Sacred name repeated for emphasis.
- אֶת־הָאָרֶץ (et-ha-aretz) – Root: ארץ; Form: Object marker + definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “the land”; Notes: Refers to the land of Yisraʾel, viewed as forsaken by YHWH.