הֵ֣ן אֶ֣רֶץ כַּשְׂדִּ֗ים זֶ֤ה הָעָם֙ לֹ֣א הָיָ֔ה אַשּׁ֖וּר יְסָדָ֣הּ לְצִיִּ֑ים הֵקִ֣ימוּ בְחִנָּ֔יו עֹרְרוּ֙ אַרְמְנֹותֶ֔יהָ שָׂמָ֖הּ לְמַפֵּלָֽה׃
Behold the land of the Kasdim—this people was not! Ashshur founded it for wild creatures. They raised its towers, they stripped its palaces, He made it a ruin.
Morphology
- הֵ֣ן (hen) – Root: הן; Form: Interjection; Translation: “Behold”; Notes: Introduces a demonstrative or exclamatory statement.
- אֶ֣רֶץ (ʾerets) – Root: ארץ; Form: Noun, feminine singular absolute; Translation: “land”; Notes: Refers to a territory or nation.
- כַּשְׂדִּ֗ים (Kasdim) – Root: –; Form: Proper noun, masculine plural; Translation: “Kasdim” (Chaldeans); Notes: Refers to the Babylonians.
- זֶ֤ה (zeh) – Root: זה; Form: Demonstrative pronoun, masculine singular; Translation: “this”; Notes: Refers back to “land.”
- הָעָם֙ (haʿam) – Root: עם; Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the people”; Notes: Refers to the Kasdim.
- לֹ֣א הָיָ֔ה (lo hayah) – Root: היה; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular with negative; Translation: “was not”; Notes: Emphasizes their non-existence or lack of historical significance at the time.
- אַשּׁ֖וּר (Ashshur) – Root: –; Form: Proper noun, masculine singular; Translation: “Ashshur” (Assyria); Notes: Subject of the next verb.
- יְסָדָ֣הּ (yesadah) – Root: יסד; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd feminine singular suffix; Translation: “he founded it”; Notes: Refers to founding the land as a ruin.
- לְצִיִּ֑ים (le-tsiyyim) – Root: צי; Form: Noun, masculine plural; Translation: “for wild creatures”; Notes: Often used for desert beasts or ghostly entities.
- הֵקִ֣ימוּ (heqimu) – Root: קום; Form: Hifil perfect 3rd person plural; Translation: “they raised”; Notes: Refers to setting up towers or structures.
- בְחִנָּ֔יו (be-ḥinnav) – Root: חנה; Form: Noun (towers/tents?), masculine plural with 3rd masculine singular suffix; Translation: “its towers” (or “siege works”); Notes: Possibly from a rare or poetic usage; other interpretations see this as “siege mounds.”
- עֹרְרוּ֙ (ʿoreru) – Root: ערר; Form: Piel perfect 3rd person plural; Translation: “they stripped / uncovered”; Notes: Can also mean “roused,” but here context favors demolition.
- אַרְמְנֹותֶ֔יהָ (armenoteha) – Root: ארמון; Form: Noun, masculine plural with 3rd feminine singular suffix; Translation: “her palaces”; Notes: Refers to the grandeur or strongholds of the city.
- שָׂמָ֖הּ (samah) – Root: שׂים; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd feminine singular suffix; Translation: “he made it”; Notes: Refers back to Ashshur as subject.
- לְמַפֵּלָֽה (le-mapelah) – Root: נפל; Form: Noun, feminine singular; Translation: “a ruin”; Notes: Expresses total destruction.