נְגַֽשְׁשָׁ֤ה כַֽעִוְרִים֙ קִ֔יר וּכְאֵ֥ין עֵינַ֖יִם נְגַשֵּׁ֑שָׁה כָּשַׁ֤לְנוּ בַֽצָּהֳרַ֨יִם֙ כַּנֶּ֔שֶׁף בָּאַשְׁמַנִּ֖ים כַּמֵּתִֽים׃
We grope for the wall like the blind, and as those without eyes we grope; we stumble at noonday as in the twilight, among the vigorous we are like the dead.
Morphology
- נְגַשְׁשָׁה (negas’shah) – Root: גשׁשׁ (gashash); Form: Qal cohortative 1st person plural; Translation: “let us grope” / “we grope”; Notes: Repeated for poetic emphasis, expresses desperation.
- כַעִוְרִים (ka-ʿivrim) – Root: עור (ʿiwer); Form: Preposition + noun masculine plural; Translation: “like the blind”; Notes: Simile of disorientation and helplessness.
- קִיר (qir) – Root: קיר (qir); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “wall”; Notes: That which is felt for support in darkness.
- וּכְאֵין (u-k’ein) – Roots: וְ (ve, “and”) + אין (ʾein); Form: Conjunction + negative existential particle; Translation: “and as if there were no”; Notes: Intensifies blindness image.
- עֵינַיִם (ʿeinayim) – Root: עין (ʿayin); Form: Noun dual (feminine); Translation: “eyes”; Notes: Paired organs of sight.
- נְגַשֵּׁשָׁה (negashe-shah) – Root: גשׁשׁ (gashash); Form: Qal cohortative 1st person plural (again); Translation: “we grope”; Notes: Repetition for effect and desperation.
- כָּשַׁלְנוּ (kashalnu) – Root: כשל (kashal); Form: Qal perfect 1st person plural; Translation: “we stumble”; Notes: Describes faltering motion in darkness.
- בַצָּהֳרַיִם (ba-tsohorayim) – Root: צהר (tsahar); Form: Preposition + noun dual; Translation: “at noonday”; Notes: Irony of stumbling in broad daylight.
- כַּנֶּשֶׁף (ka-neshef) – Root: נשׁף (neshef); Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “as in the twilight”; Notes: Symbol of darkness or transition into night.
- בָּאַשְׁמַנִּים (ba-ashmanim) – Root: אשׁם or possibly שׁמן (ambiguous root); Form: Preposition + noun masculine plural; Translation: “among the vigorous” or “fat ones”; Notes: Refers to those in full strength; setting contrast with speaker.
- כַּמֵּתִים (ka-metim) – Root: מות (mut); Form: Preposition + noun masculine plural; Translation: “like the dead”; Notes: Emphasizes powerlessness, despair, and lack of vitality.