רֹעֶ֣ה אֵ֔פֶר לֵ֥ב הוּתַ֖ל הִטָּ֑הוּ וְלֹֽא־יַצִּ֤יל אֶת־נַפְשֹׁו֙ וְלֹ֣א יֹאמַ֔ר הֲלֹ֥וא שֶׁ֖קֶר בִּימִינִֽי׃ ס
He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has led him astray, and he cannot save his soul, and he does not say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Morphology
- רֹעֶ֣ה (roʿeh) – Root: רעה; Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “he feeds” or “he tends”; Notes: Refers metaphorically to feeding upon something worthless.
- אֵ֔פֶר (ʾefer) – Root: אפר; Form: Noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “ashes”; Notes: Represents futility or destruction.
- לֵ֥ב (lev) – Root: לבב; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “heart”; Notes: Seat of intellect, will, and emotion in Biblical Hebrew.
- הוּתַ֖ל (hutal) – Root: הלל or הות; Form: Hophal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “has been deceived”; Notes: Passive voice indicating the heart has been acted upon.
- הִטָּ֑הוּ (hittahu) – Root: נטה; Form: Hifil perfect 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “has turned him aside”; Notes: Causative stem indicating the deceived heart is the subject causing deviation.
- וְלֹֽא־יַצִּ֤יל (ve-lo yatsil) – Root: נצל; Form: Hifil imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and he cannot save”; Notes: Denotes inability to deliver or rescue.
- אֶת־נַפְשֹׁו֙ (et-nafsho) – Root: נפשׁ; Form: Noun feminine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “his soul”; Notes: Direct object marker with possessive suffix.
- וְלֹ֣א (ve-lo) – Root: לא; Form: Negative particle; Translation: “and not”; Notes: Introduces negation.
- יֹאמַ֔ר (yomar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “he says”; Notes: Denotes unrealized potential thought or confession.
- הֲלֹ֥וא (halo) – Root: לא; Form: Interrogative particle; Translation: “is it not?”; Notes: Introduces a rhetorical question expecting affirmation.
- שֶׁ֖קֶר (sheqer) – Root: שׁקר; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a lie”; Notes: Often connotes falsehood in idolatrous contexts.
- בִּימִינִֽי׃ (bi-yemini) – Root: ימן; Form: Noun feminine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “in my right hand”; Notes: Symbol of strength or action—here ironically the place of false worship.