Isaiah 42:19

מִ֤י עִוֵּר֙ כִּ֣י אִם־עַבְדִּ֔י וְחֵרֵ֖שׁ כְּמַלְאָכִ֣י אֶשְׁלָ֑ח מִ֤י עִוֵּר֙ כִּמְשֻׁלָּ֔ם וְעִוֵּ֖ר כְּעֶ֥בֶד יְהוָֽה׃

Who is blind if not My servant, or deaf like My messenger whom I send? Who is blind like the one repaid, and blind like the servant of YHWH?

Morphology

1. מִ֤י (mi) – Root: מי; Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “Who?”; Notes: Introduces a rhetorical question.
2. עִוֵּר֙ (ʿivver) – Root: עור; Form: Adjective, masculine singular; Translation: “blind”; Notes: Used metaphorically of spiritual insensitivity.
3. כִּ֣י אִם־ (ki im) – Root: כי, אם; Form: Conjunction + conditional particle; Translation: “if not”; Notes: Emphatic construction.
4. עַבְדִּ֔י (ʿavdi) – Root: עבד; Form: Noun, masculine singular construct + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “My servant”; Notes: Refers to the one serving YHWH—possibly Yisraʾel or the prophetic servant figure.
5. וְחֵרֵ֖שׁ (ve-ḥeresh) – Root: חרשׁ; Form: Conjunction + adjective, masculine singular; Translation: “and deaf”; Notes: Parallel to “blind,” reinforcing the metaphor of sensory lack.
6. כְּמַלְאָכִ֣י (ke-malʾakhi) – Root: מלאך; Form: Preposition + noun, masculine singular construct + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “like My messenger”; Notes: Refers to a prophetic or divine agent.
7. אֶשְׁלָ֑ח (ʾeshlaḥ) – Root: שלח; Form: Qal imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I send”; Notes: Refers to YHWH’s act of commissioning.
8. מִ֤י (mi) – Root: מי; Form: Interrogative pronoun; Translation: “Who?”; Notes: Repetition for rhetorical emphasis.
9. עִוֵּר֙ (ʿivver) – Root: עור; Form: Adjective, masculine singular; Translation: “blind”; Notes: Repeated for parallelism and emphasis.
10. כִּמְשֻׁלָּ֔ם (ki-meshullam) – Root: שלם; Form: Preposition + Pual passive participle masculine singular; Translation: “like the one repaid”; Notes: Possibly a name or title (“Meshullam”), or metaphorical term for someone who has received recompense.
11. וְעִוֵּ֖ר (ve-ʿivver) – Root: עור; Form: Conjunction + adjective, masculine singular; Translation: “and blind”; Notes: Final parallel echo of the key concept.
12. כְּעֶ֥בֶד (ke-ʿeved) – Root: עבד; Form: Preposition + noun, masculine singular; Translation: “like the servant”; Notes: Matching the previous use of עַבְדִּי.
13. יְהוָֽה (YHWH) – Root: היה; Form: Proper name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Tetragrammaton, the covenantal name of God.