מִיַּ֤ד שְׁאֹול֙ אֶפְדֵּ֔ם מִמָּ֖וֶת אֶגְאָלֵ֑ם אֱהִ֨י דְבָרֶיךָ֜ מָ֗וֶת אֱהִ֤י קָֽטָבְךָ֙ שְׁאֹ֔ול נֹ֖חַם יִסָּתֵ֥ר מֵעֵינָֽי׃
From the hand of Sheʾol I will ransom them; from death I will redeem them. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheʾol, where is your destruction? Compassion shall be hidden from My eyes.
Morphology
- מִיַּד (miyyad) – Root: יָד (yad); Form: Preposition מִן + noun feminine singular in construct; Translation: “from the hand of”; Notes: “Hand” here symbolizes power or grasp—referring to deliverance from the controlling power of death or Sheʾol.
- שְׁאֹול (sheʾol) – Root: שׁאל (shaʾal) or possibly from Akkadian *šuʾalu*; Form: Noun proper feminine singular; Translation: “Sheʾol” (the grave, the realm of the dead); Notes: A poetic term for the underworld—depicts death’s domain from which YHWH promises rescue.
- אֶפְדֵּם (ʾefdēm) – Root: פָדָה (padah); Form: Qal imperfect 1st person singular + suffix 3mp; Translation: “I will ransom them”; Notes: Indicates divine act of deliverance—YHWH as Redeemer who frees His people from captivity to death.
- מִמָּוֶת (mimmavet) – Root: מָוֶת (mavet); Form: Preposition מִן + noun masculine singular; Translation: “from death”; Notes: Parallel to “from the hand of Sheʾol,” emphasizing total liberation from mortal threat and decay.
- אֶגְאָלֵם (ʾegaʾlēm) – Root: גָאַל (gaʾal); Form: Qal imperfect 1st person singular + suffix 3mp; Translation: “I will redeem them”; Notes: A covenantal term for kinship redemption, recalling the role of the *goʾel* (kinsman-redeemer); stresses YHWH’s personal involvement in Israel’s rescue.
- אֱהִי (ʾehi) – Root: הָיָה (hayah); Form: Qal imperfect 1st person singular (jussive form); Translation: “Shall I be?” or “O let me be!”; Notes: An ironic rhetorical question: “O Death, where are your plagues?”—a taunt against the power of death, signaling its impotence before YHWH.
- דְבָרֶיךָ (devareikha) – Root: דָּבָר (davar); Form: Noun masculine plural + suffix 2ms; Translation: “your plagues” or “your words”; Notes: In poetic context, “davar” here takes the sense of “plague” or “destruction”—the instruments of death.
- מָוֶת (mavet) – Root: מות (mut); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “Death”; Notes: Personified as an adversary challenged and defeated by YHWH’s redeeming power.
- אֱהִי (ʾehi) – Root: הָיָה (hayah); Form: Qal imperfect 1st person singular (jussive); Translation: “Shall I be?” or “Where is?”; Notes: Repetition emphasizes mockery—death and Sheʾol are powerless to resist divine redemption.
- קָטָבְךָ (qatavkha) – Root: קָטַב (qatav); Form: Noun masculine singular + suffix 2ms; Translation: “your destruction” or “your sting”; Notes: Hapax legomenon (rare word) possibly meaning “cutting off” or “decay.” Paul echoes this in 1 Corinthians 15:55, interpreting it as “sting.”
- שְׁאֹול (sheʾol) – Root: —; Form: Noun proper feminine singular; Translation: “Sheʾol”; Notes: Repeated for parallel poetic balance—emphasizes the futility of the grave before YHWH’s redemptive power.
- נֹחַם (noḥam) – Root: נחם (naḥam); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “compassion” or “comfort”; Notes: Indicates divine pity or mercy; its concealment marks a final withdrawal of compassion—judgment without reprieve.
- יִסָּתֵר (yissater) – Root: סתר (satar); Form: Niphal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “shall be hidden”; Notes: Divine compassion is veiled—YHWH refrains from showing mercy in this moment of justice.
- מֵעֵינָי (meʿeinai) – Root: עין (ʿayin); Form: Preposition מִן + noun feminine plural + suffix 1cs; Translation: “from My eyes”; Notes: Anthropomorphic imagery indicating divine detachment—mercy withheld from view, signaling complete judgment.