כִּי־אֶ֖בֶן מִקִּ֣יר תִּזְעָ֑ק וְכָפִ֖יס מֵעֵ֥ץ יַעֲנֶֽנָּה׃ פ
For a stone from the wall shall cry out, and a beam from the wood shall answer it.
Morphology
- כִּי־ (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for”; Notes: Introduces the reason for the preceding judgment.
- אֶבֶן (even) – Root: אבן (even); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “a stone”; Notes: Part of the building that silently testifies against wrongdoing.
- מִקִּיר (mi-qir) – Root: קיר (qir); Form: Preposition מִן + noun masculine singular; Translation: “from the wall”; Notes: Indicates source of the cry—a built structure.
- תִּזְעָק (tizʿaq) – Root: זעק (zaʿaq); Form: Qal imperfect 3fs; Translation: “shall cry out”; Notes: Feminine verb agrees with אֶבֶן; metaphor for exposing injustice.
- וְכָפִיס (ve-khafis) – Root: כפיס (kafis); Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and a beam / timber”; Notes: A wooden component of the structure.
- מֵעֵץ (me-ets) – Root: עץ (ets); Form: Preposition מִן + noun masculine singular; Translation: “from the wood”; Notes: Parallels the stone’s cry, forming a poetic pair.
- יַעֲנֶנָּה (yaʿanenna) – Root: ענה (ʿanah); Form: Qal imperfect 3ms + 3fs suffix; Translation: “shall answer it”; Notes: The timber responds to the stone’s cry—a poetic image of buildings testifying to the atrocities done within them.
- פ (peh) – Form: Masoretic paragraph marker; Translation: —; Notes: Indicates a textual break (petuhah).