אֲנִי֙ לְפָנֶ֣יךָ אֵלֵ֔ךְ וַהֲדוּרִ֖ים אושֶׂר דַּלְתֹ֤ות נְחוּשָׁה֙ אֲשַׁבֵּ֔ר וּבְרִיחֵ֥י בַרְזֶ֖ל אֲגַדֵּֽעַ׃
I Myself will go before you, and the elevations I will make level; doors of bronze I will shatter, and bars of iron I will cut down.
Morphology
- אֲנִי (ʾani) – Root: אנכ; Form: Independent personal pronoun, 1st person common singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: Stresses the divine speaker—YHWH Himself.
- לְפָנֶיךָ (lefanekha) – Root: פנה; Form: Preposition לְ + noun plural with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “before you”; Notes: Indicates guidance or leadership ahead of Koresh.
- אֵלֵךְ (ʾelekh) – Root: הלך; Form: Qal imperfect 1st person common singular; Translation: “I will go”; Notes: Expresses future personal action.
- וַהֲדוּרִים (va-hadurin) – Root: הדר; Form: Conjunction וְ + noun masculine plural; Translation: “and the elevations” or “and the high places”; Notes: Possibly metaphorical for obstacles or exalted structures.
- אושֶׂר (awasher) – Root: ישׁר; Form: Unclear form (likely 1st person imperfect Hifil or a textual variant); Translation: “I will make level”; Notes: Appears to be a variant spelling or error in transmission for אוֹשֵׁר or וַאֲשַׁוֶּה; context favors the meaning “I will level.”
- דַּלְתֹות (daltot) – Root: דלת; Form: Noun feminine plural construct; Translation: “doors of”; Notes: Construct state links it to “bronze.”
- נְחוּשָׁה (neḥushah) – Root: נחשׁ; Form: Noun feminine singular absolute; Translation: “bronze”; Notes: Refers to strong, fortified barriers.
- אֲשַׁבֵּר (ʾashabber) – Root: שׁבר; Form: Piel imperfect 1st person common singular; Translation: “I will shatter”; Notes: Piel emphasizes forceful breaking or destruction.
- וּבְרִיחֵי (u-veriḥei) – Root: ברח; Form: Conjunction וְ + noun masculine plural construct with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “and bars of”; Notes: Refers to securing mechanisms like gate-bars.
- בַרְזֶל (barzel) – Root: ברזל; Form: Noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “iron”; Notes: Emphasizes the strength of what is being destroyed.
- אֲגַדֵּעַ (ʾagaddeaʿ) – Root: גדע; Form: Piel imperfect 1st person common singular; Translation: “I will cut down”; Notes: Piel intensifies the action, suggesting a decisive breaking or hewing.