תֶּאְשַׁם֙ שֹֽׁמְרֹ֔ון כִּ֥י מָרְתָ֖ה בֵּֽאלֹהֶ֑יהָ בַּחֶ֣רֶב יִפֹּ֔לוּ עֹלְלֵיהֶ֣ם יְרֻטָּ֔שׁוּ וְהָרִיֹּותָ֖יו יְבֻקָּֽעוּ׃ פ
Shomeron shall bear her guilt, for she has rebelled against her God; by the sword they shall fall, their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women shall be ripped open.
Morphology
- תֶּאְשַׁם (teʾsham) – Root: אָשַׁם (ʾasham); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “shall bear guilt” or “shall be guilty”; Notes: Refers to moral culpability—Shomeron (Samaria) will face judgment for its rebellion against YHWH.
- שֹֽׁמְרֹון (Shomeron) – Root: שׁמר (shamar); Form: Proper noun feminine singular; Translation: “Shomeron” (Samaria); Notes: The capital of the northern kingdom of Yisraʾel, often representing the nation as a whole in prophetic literature.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for” or “because”; Notes: Introduces the cause for Samaria’s guilt—rebellion against God.
- מָרְתָה (martah) – Root: מרה (marah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “she has rebelled”; Notes: The verb expresses defiance—used frequently in covenantal contexts for disobedience to YHWH.
- בֵּאלֹהֶיהָ (beʾloheha) – Root: אלֹהִים (ʾelohim); Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine plural construct + suffix 3fs; Translation: “against her God”; Notes: Highlights covenant betrayal—Samaria’s infidelity is not political but theological.
- בַּחֶרֶב (baḥerev) – Root: חֶרֶב (ḥerev); Form: Preposition בְּ + definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “by the sword”; Notes: Instrumental preposition—indicates the means of judgment, military destruction by invading armies.
- יִפֹּלוּ (yipolu) – Root: נָפַל (nafal); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they shall fall”; Notes: Describes the collective downfall of the people, emphasizing the physical devastation following rebellion.
- עֹלְלֵיהֶם (ʿolleleihem) – Root: עול (ʿul); Form: Noun masculine plural construct + suffix 3mp; Translation: “their little ones”; Notes: Denotes infants or small children—tragic victims of the coming destruction.
- יְרֻטָּשׁוּ (yeruttashu) – Root: רָטַשׁ (ratash); Form: Pual imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “shall be dashed in pieces”; Notes: A violent image of the cruelty of war; the Pual stem emphasizes passive reception of brutal action.
- וְהָרִיֹּותָיו (vehariyotav) – Root: הָרָה (harah); Form: Conjunction וְ + noun feminine plural + suffix 3ms; Translation: “and his pregnant women”; Notes: Refers to expectant mothers within the population of Samaria, showing the totality of destruction across generations.
- יְבֻקָּעוּ (yevukkaʿu) – Root: בָּקַע (baqaʿ); Form: Pual imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “shall be ripped open”; Notes: One of the most horrific prophetic images—used to express the extremity of divine judgment and human violence in war.