כִּֽי־נִחַ֨ם יְהוָ֜ה צִיֹּ֗ון נִחַם֙ כָּל־חָרְבֹתֶ֔יהָ וַיָּ֤שֶׂם מִדְבָּרָהּ֙ כְּעֵ֔דֶן וְעַרְבָתָ֖הּ כְּגַן־יְהוָ֑ה שָׂשֹׂ֤ון וְשִׂמְחָה֙ יִמָּ֣צֵא בָ֔הּ תֹּודָ֖ה וְקֹ֥ול זִמְרָֽה׃ ס
For YHWH has comforted Tsiyyon, He has comforted all her ruins, and He has made her wilderness like ʿEden, and her desert like the garden of YHWH; joy and gladness shall be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of song.
Morphology
- כִּֽי־נִחַ֨ם (ki-niḥam) – Root: נחם (naḥam); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “For He has comforted”; Notes: Introduces the reason and signals completed divine action.
- יְהוָ֜ה (YHWH) – Root: יהוה; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Subject of the verb “comforted.”
- צִיֹּ֗ון (Tsiyon) – Root: ציון (Tsiyon); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Tsiyon”; Notes: Represents Jerusalem or the covenant people.
- נִחַם֙ (niḥam) – Root: נחם (naḥam); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “He has comforted”; Notes: Repeated for emphasis, parallelism typical in Hebrew poetry.
- כָּל־חָרְבֹתֶ֔יהָ (kol-ḥorvotéha) – Root: חרב (ḥarav); Form: Noun feminine plural construct + 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “all her ruins”; Notes: Refers to destroyed or desolate places of Tsiyon.
- וַיָּ֤שֶׂם (va-yasem) – Root: שׂים (sim); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “and He has made”; Notes: Narrative action continuing from divine comfort.
- מִדְבָּרָהּ֙ (midbarah) – Root: מדבר (midbar); Form: Noun masculine singular + 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “her wilderness”; Notes: Symbol of desolation now being transformed.
- כְּעֵ֔דֶן (ke-ʿEden) – Root: עדן (ʿEden); Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “like ʿEden”; Notes: Alludes to paradise and restoration.
- וְעַרְבָתָ֖הּ (ve-ʿarvatáh) – Root: ערבה (ʿaravah); Form: Noun feminine singular + 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “and her desert”; Notes: Parallel to “wilderness,” highlighting transformation.
- כְּגַן־יְהוָ֑ה (ke-gan-YHWH) – Root: גן (gan); Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular construct + proper noun; Translation: “like the garden of YHWH”; Notes: Likely an allusion to the Garden of Eden or divine abundance.
- שָׂשֹׂ֤ון (sason) – Root: שוש (sus); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “joy”; Notes: Often paired with “gladness” in poetic parallelism.
- וְשִׂמְחָה֙ (ve-simḥah) – Root: שמח (samach); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “and gladness”; Notes: Emotionally rich vocabulary of restoration.
- יִמָּ֣צֵא (yimmatse) – Root: מצא (matsa); Form: Nifal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “shall be found”; Notes: Passive voice, stressing the resulting state of transformation.
- בָ֔הּ (vah) – Root: ב (be); Form: Preposition + 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “in her”; Notes: Refers back to Tsiyon as the transformed place.
- תֹּודָ֖ה (todah) – Root: ידה (yadah); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “thanksgiving”; Notes: Expresses praise and gratitude to YHWH.
- וְקֹ֥ול (ve-qol) – Root: קול (qol); Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “and the sound of”; Notes: Introduces the next noun in construct relationship.
- זִמְרָֽה (zimrah) – Root: זמר (zamar); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “song”; Notes: Refers to vocal musical praise.