וָאֶשְׁמַ֞ע אֶת־קֹ֤ול אֲדֹנָי֙ אֹמֵ֔ר אֶת־מִ֥י אֶשְׁלַ֖ח וּמִ֣י יֵֽלֶךְ־לָ֑נוּ וָאֹמַ֖ר הִנְנִ֥י שְׁלָחֵֽנִי׃
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
Morphology
- וָאֶשְׁמַע (va-eshemaʿ) – Root: שׁמע (shamaʿ); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 1st person masculine singular; Translation: “And I heard”; Notes: Marks Isaiah’s personal reception of divine speech.
- אֶת־קֹול (et-qol) – Root: קול (qol); Form: Direct object marker + noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “the voice of”; Notes: Object of the verb “heard.”
- אֲדֹנָי (Adonai) – Root: אדן (ʾadon); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “the Lord”; Notes: Divine title expressing sovereignty.
- אֹמֵר (omer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces the divine question.
- אֶת־מִי (et-mi) – Root: —; Form: Direct object marker + interrogative pronoun; Translation: “Whom”; Notes: Indicates the object of “send.”
- אֶשְׁלַח (eshlaḥ) – Root: שלח (shalaḥ); Form: Qal imperfect 1st person masculine singular; Translation: “shall I send”; Notes: First part of the divine inquiry.
- וּמִי (u-mi) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction + interrogative pronoun; Translation: “and who”; Notes: Second part of the question—adds parallelism.
- יֵלֶךְ (yelekh) – Root: הלך (halakh); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “will go”; Notes: Volitional/missional verb in context.
- לָנוּ (lanu) – Root: ל (le) + אנחנו (anachnu); Form: Preposition + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “for us”; Notes: Plural of majesty or divine council formula.
- וָאֹמַר (va-omar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 1st person masculine singular; Translation: “Then I said”; Notes: Isaiah’s voluntary response to the call.
- הִנְנִי (hineni) – Root: —; Form: Interjection + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “Here I am”; Notes: Classic biblical formula of readiness and self-offering.
- שְׁלָחֵנִי (shelaḥeni) – Root: שלח (shalaḥ); Form: Qal imperative masculine singular + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “send me”; Notes: Voluntary offer to carry out God’s mission.