וּבָנוּ֙ חָרְבֹ֣ות עֹולָ֔ם שֹׁמְמֹ֥ות רִֽאשֹׁנִ֖ים יְקֹומֵ֑מוּ וְחִדְּשׁוּ֙ עָ֣רֵי חֹ֔רֶב שֹׁמְמֹ֖ות דֹּ֥ור וָדֹֽור׃
And they shall build the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall renew the ruined cities, desolations of generation and generation.
Morphology
- וּבָנוּ (u-vanu) – Root: בנה; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person plural with vav-conversive; Translation: “and they shall build”; Notes: Refers to future rebuilding activity as restoration.
- חָרְבֹות (ḥarvot) – Root: חרב; Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “ruins”; Notes: Refers to places laid waste.
- עֹולָם (ʿolam) – Root: עלם; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “ancient” or “eternal”; Notes: Here in the sense of “from long ago.”
- שֹׁמְמֹות (shomemot) – Root: שׁמם; Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “desolations”; Notes: Depicts lifeless, abandoned conditions.
- רִאשֹׁנִים (riʾshonim) – Root: ראשׁ; Form: Adjective masculine plural; Translation: “former”; Notes: Refers to earlier times, past generations.
- יְקֹומֵמוּ (yeqomemu) – Root: קום; Form: Polel imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they shall raise up”; Notes: Denotes restoration or reestablishment.
- וְחִדְּשׁוּ (ve-ḥiddeshu) – Root: חדשׁ; Form: Piel perfect 3rd person plural with vav-conversive; Translation: “and they shall renew”; Notes: Intensified form implies complete renewal.
- עָרֵי (ʿarei) – Root: עיר; Form: Construct plural feminine; Translation: “cities of”; Notes: Construct with “ruin” below.
- חֹרֶב (ḥorev) – Root: חרב; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “ruin” or “devastation”; Notes: Completes the phrase “ruined cities.”
- שֹׁמְמֹות (shomemot) – Root: שׁמם; Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “desolations”; Notes: Repetition reinforces the degree of former devastation.
- דֹּור (dor) – Root: דור; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “generation”; Notes: Often in idiom “generation and generation” for perpetuity.
- וָדֹור (va-dor) – Root: דור; Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and generation”; Notes: Intensifies time span of past ruin and future restoration.