קֹ֚ול אֹמֵ֣ר קְרָ֔א וְאָמַ֖ר מָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א כָּל־הַבָּשָׂ֣ר חָצִ֔יר וְכָל־חַסְדֹּ֖ו כְּצִ֥יץ הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃
A voice says, “Call!” And he said, “What shall I call?” All flesh is grass, and all its loyalty is like the flower of the field.
Morphology
- קֹול (qol) – Root: קול; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “A voice”; Notes: Common prophetic formula introducing divine instruction or command.
- אֹמֵר (ʾomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “is saying”; Notes: Present tense aspect, indicating an ongoing or immediate speech.
- קְרָא (qera) – Root: קרא; Form: Qal imperative masculine singular; Translation: “Call!”; Notes: A divine command to proclaim or cry out.
- וְאָמַר (ve-amar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Response from the prophet or messenger.
- מָה (mah) – Root: מה; Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “What”; Notes: Introduces the question about the message content.
- אֶקְרָא (eqra) – Root: קרא; Form: Qal imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “shall I call”; Notes: Expresses inquiry into the prophetic message.
- כָּל־הַבָּשָׂר (kol-ha-basar) – Root: בשר; Form: Quantifier + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “All flesh”; Notes: Refers to all humanity, emphasizing mortality.
- חָצִיר (ḥatsir) – Root: חצר; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “grass”; Notes: Symbol of frailty or impermanence.
- וְכָל־חַסְדֹּו (ve-khol-ḥasdo) – Root: חסד; Form: Conjunction + quantifier + noun masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “and all its loyalty”; Notes: Refers to human goodness or covenantal fidelity, viewed as transient.
- כְּצִיץ (ke-tsits) – Root: צוץ; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “like the flower”; Notes: Simile indicating beauty that quickly fades.
- הַשָּׂדֶה (ha-sadeh) – Root: שדה; Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “of the field”; Notes: Typical image of temporality in nature metaphors.