פָּנֹ֤ה אֶל־הַרְבֵּה֙ וְהִנֵּ֣ה לִמְעָ֔ט וַהֲבֵאתֶ֥ם הַבַּ֖יִת וְנָפַ֣חְתִּי בֹ֑ו יַ֣עַן מֶ֗ה נְאֻם֙ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָאֹ֔ות יַ֗עַן בֵּיתִי֙ אֲשֶׁר־ה֣וּא חָרֵ֔ב וְאַתֶּ֥ם רָצִ֖ים אִ֥ישׁ לְבֵיתֹֽו׃
You looked for much, and behold, it came to little; and you brought it to the house, and I blew upon it. Because of what?” declares YHWH of Hosts. “Because My house—it is ruined, while you run each man to his own house.
Morphology
- פָּנֹה (panoh) – Root: פנה (panah); Form: Qal infinitive absolute; Translation: “Looking toward / turning toward”; Notes: Used idiomatically with expectation of abundance.
- אֶל (el) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition; Translation: “toward”; Notes: Marks the direction of hope or expectation.
- הַרְבֵּה (harbeh) – Root: רבה (rabah); Form: Definite adverbial noun; Translation: “the much / abundance”; Notes: Indicates hoped-for plentiful return.
- וְהִנֵּה (ve-hinneh) – Root: הנה (hinneh); Form: Interjection; Translation: “and behold”; Notes: Dramatic marker introducing an unexpected outcome.
- לִמְעָט (limʿat) – Root: מעט (maʿat); Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “to little”; Notes: Indicates meager, disappointing results.
- וַהֲבֵאתֶם (va-haveʾtem) – Root: בוא (boʾ); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 2mp; Translation: “and you brought”; Notes: Refers to their offerings or yield brought home.
- הַבַּיִת (ha-bayit) – Root: בית (bayit); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the house”; Notes: Here likely “your house,” i.e., personal dwellings (contextual ellipsis).
- וְנָפַחְתִּי (ve-nafakhti) – Root: נפח (nafakh); Form: Conjunction + Qal perfect 1cs; Translation: “and I blew upon it”; Notes: Metaphor for divine frustration of their efforts.
- בּוֹ (bo) – Root: בוא (boʾ) as pronoun suffix function; Form: Preposition בְּ + suffix 3ms; Translation: “upon it”; Notes: Refers to the produce they brought home.
- יַעַן (yaʿan) – Root: יען (yaʿan); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “because”; Notes: Introduces divine explanation.
- מֶה (meh) – Root: מה (mah); Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “what?”; Notes: Rhetorical device emphasizing accountability.
- נְאֻם (neʾum) – Root: נאום (neʾum); Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “utterance of”; Notes: Solemn prophetic formula.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: הוה (havah); Form: Proper divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Speaker of the judgment.
- צְבָאֹות (tsevaʾot) – Root: צבא (tsavaʾ); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “of Hosts”; Notes: Military title strengthening authority.
- יַעַן (yaʿan) – Root: יען (yaʿan); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “because”; Notes: Repetition reinforces the cause-effect logic.
- בֵּיתִי (beti) – Root: בית (bayit); Form: Noun masculine singular + suffix 1cs; Translation: “My house”; Notes: Refers to the Temple.
- אֲשֶׁר (asher) – Root: אשר (ʾasher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “which”; Notes: Introduces explanation.
- הוּא (hu) – Root: הוא (hu); Form: Independent pronoun 3ms; Translation: “it”; Notes: Emphatic.
- חָרֵב (ḥarev) – Root: חרב (ḥarav); Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “ruined”; Notes: Stresses ongoing desolation.
- וְאַתֶּם (ve-atem) – Root: אתם (atem); Form: Conjunction + independent pronoun 2mp; Translation: “and you”; Notes: Contrastive emphasis.
- רָצִים (ratsim) – Root: רוץ (ruts); Form: Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “running”; Notes: Implies hurried activity for personal gain.
- אִישׁ (ish) – Root: אישׁ (ish); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “each man”; Notes: Emphasizes individual responsibility.
- לְבֵיתוֹ (le-veito) – Root: בית (bayit); Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine singular + suffix 3ms; Translation: “to his house”; Notes: Highlights self-focus contrasted with neglect of YHWH’s house.