וָאֹמַ֕ר עַד־מָתַ֖י אֲדֹנָ֑י וַיֹּ֡אמֶר עַ֣ד אֲשֶׁר֩ אִם־שָׁא֨וּ עָרִ֜ים מֵאֵ֣ין יֹושֵׁ֗ב וּבָתִּים֙ מֵאֵ֣ין אָדָ֔ם וְהָאֲדָמָ֖ה תִּשָּׁאֶ֥ה שְׁמָמָֽה׃
And I said, “Until when, Lord?” And He said, “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land is utterly desolate,
Morphology
- וָאֹמַר (va-omar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 1st person masculine singular; Translation: “And I said”; Notes: Marks Isaiah’s interjection or question.
- עַד־מָתַי (ʿad-matai) – Root: עד (ʿad), מתי (matai); Form: Preposition + interrogative; Translation: “Until when?”; Notes: A plea for how long judgment will last.
- אֲדֹנָי (Adonai) – Root: אדן (ʾadon); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Lord”; Notes: Divine title used in address.
- וַיֹּאמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And He said”; Notes: Begins YHWH’s response.
- עַד (ʿad) – Form: Preposition; Translation: “until”; Notes: Introduces condition for end of judgment.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “that” or “when”; Notes: Connects clause describing conditions of desolation.
- אִם־שָׁאוּ (ʾim-shaʾu) – Root: שׁאה (shaʾah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person plural; Translation: “are laid waste”; Notes: Rare root, denotes complete ruin or emptiness.
- עָרִים (ʿarim) – Root: עיר (ʿir); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “cities”; Notes: Plural subject of the destruction.
- מֵאֵין (meʾein) – Root: אין (ʾein); Form: Preposition + negative existential; Translation: “without”; Notes: Indicates total absence.
- יֹושֵׁב (yoshev) – Root: ישׁב (yashav); Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “inhabitant”; Notes: Cities left uninhabited.
- וּבָתִּים (u-vattim) – Root: בית (bayit); Form: Conjunction + noun masculine plural; Translation: “and houses”; Notes: Continues image of social collapse.
- מֵאֵין אָדָם (meʾein adam) – Root: אין (ʾein), אדם (ʾadam); Form: Prepositional phrase; Translation: “without man”; Notes: No human presence remains.
- וְהָאֲדָמָה (ve-ha-adamah) – Root: אדמה (ʾadamah); Form: Conjunction + definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “and the land”; Notes: The ground itself is affected by judgment.
- תִּשָּׁאֶה (tissaʾeh) – Root: שׁאה (shaʾah); Form: Nifal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “is made utterly desolate”; Notes: Passive form, emphasizes devastation.
- שְׁמָמָה (shemamah) – Root: שׁמם (shamam); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “desolation”; Notes: Emphasizes total ruin, abandonment.