לֹֽא־תֵשֵׁ֣ב לָנֶ֔צַח וְלֹ֥א תִשְׁכֹּ֖ן עַד־דֹּ֣ור וָדֹ֑ור וְלֹֽא־יַהֵ֥ל שָׁם֙ עֲרָבִ֔י וְרֹעִ֖ים לֹא־יַרְבִּ֥צוּ שָֽׁם׃
She shall not be inhabited forever, nor shall she be settled from generation to generation; no ʿAravi shall pitch tent there, and shepherds shall not make flocks lie down there.
Morphology
- לֹא־תֵשֵׁב (lo-teishev) – Root: ישׁב (yashav); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular with negative particle; Translation: “She shall not dwell”; Notes: Refers to Babylon as a feminine city no longer inhabited.
- לָנֶצַח (la-netzaḥ) – Root: נצח (netzaḥ); Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “forever”; Notes: Emphasizes eternal desolation.
- וְלֹא תִשְׁכֹּן (ve-lo tishkon) – Root: שׁכן (shakan); Form: Conjunction + Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “nor shall she settle”; Notes: Parallel to “dwell,” emphasizing no habitation.
- עַד־דֹּור וָדֹור (ʿad-dor va-dor) – Root: דור (dor); Form: Preposition + construct noun + conjunction + noun; Translation: “from generation to generation”; Notes: Idiom for unending time.
- וְלֹא־יַהֵל (ve-lo yahel) – Root: אהל (ʾahal); Form: Conjunction + Hifil imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “nor shall pitch tent”; Notes: Used for nomadic encampments.
- שָׁם (sham) – Root: שם; Form: Adverb; Translation: “there”; Notes: Refers to the site of Babylon’s ruins.
- עֲרָבִי (ʿaravi) – Root: ערב (ʿarav); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “Arab”; Notes: Nomadic desert dwellers known for tent-dwelling.
- וְרֹעִים (ve-roʿim) – Root: רעה (raʿah); Form: Conjunction + participle masculine plural; Translation: “and shepherds”; Notes: Those who tend flocks, typically living in open land.
- לֹא־יַרְבִּצוּ (lo-yarbitsu) – Root: רבץ (ravats); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural with negative particle; Translation: “shall not make [flocks] lie down”; Notes: Expresses abandonment even by pastoralists.
- שָׁם (sham) – Root: שם; Form: Adverb; Translation: “there”; Notes: Repeated for emphasis, confirming utter desolation.