Isaiah 34:9

וְנֶהֶפְכ֤וּ נְחָלֶ֨יהָ֙ לְזֶ֔פֶת וַעֲפָרָ֖הּ לְגָפְרִ֑ית וְהָיְתָ֣ה אַרְצָ֔הּ לְזֶ֖פֶת בֹּעֵרָֽה׃

And her streams shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into sulfur; and her land shall become burning pitch.

Morphology

1. וְנֶהֶפְכ֤וּ (ve-nehefkhu) – Root: הפך; Form: Nifal perfect 3rd person common plural; Translation: “were turned”; Notes: Passive transformation, denotes divine judgment.
2. נְחָלֶ֨יהָ (neḥaleha) – Root: נחל; Form: Noun masculine plural construct + 3rd feminine singular suffix; Translation: “her streams”; Notes: Refers to channels of water or wadis.
3. לְזֶ֔פֶת (le-zefet) – Root: זפת; Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular; Translation: “into pitch”; Notes: A viscous, flammable tar substance.
4. וַעֲפָרָ֖הּ (va-ʿafarah) – Root: עפר; Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular + 3rd feminine singular suffix; Translation: “and her soil/dust”; Notes: Often denotes dry earth or land.
5. לְגָפְרִ֑ית (le-gofrit) – Root: גפרית; Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular; Translation: “into sulfur”; Notes: Symbol of divine destruction.
6. וְהָיְתָ֣ה (ve-hayetah) – Root: היה; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “and it shall become”; Notes: Continuation of prophetic sequence.
7. אַרְצָ֔הּ (artzah) – Root: ארץ; Form: Noun feminine singular + 3rd feminine singular suffix; Translation: “her land”; Notes: Feminine suffix refers back to the land (likely Edom).
8. לְזֶ֖פֶת (le-zefet) – Root: זפת; Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular; Translation: “into pitch”; Notes: Repetition for emphasis, parallelism.
9. בֹּעֵרָֽה (boʿerah) – Root: בער; Form: Qal participle feminine singular with he locale ending; Translation: “burning”; Notes: Describes ongoing combustion, gives vivid image of judgment.