לָכֵ֗ן כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָאֹ֔ות הִנְנִ֥י פֹקֵ֖ד עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם הַבַּֽחוּרִים֙ יָמֻ֣תוּ בַחֶ֔רֶב בְּנֵיהֶם֙ וּבְנֹ֣ותֵיהֶ֔ם יָמֻ֖תוּ בָּרָעָֽב׃
Therefore, thus said YHWH of hosts: “Behold, I will attend to them. The young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine.
Morphology
- לָכֵן (lakhen) – Root: כן; Form: Adverb; Translation: “Therefore”; Notes: Introduces the consequence of previous actions or declarations.
- כֹּה (koh) – Root: כה; Form: Adverb; Translation: “Thus”; Notes: Common introductory formula for divine speech.
- אָמַר (ʾamar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “said”; Notes: Refers to YHWH’s direct speech declaration.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: היה; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The personal name of Israel’s God.
- צְבָאֹות (tsevaʾot) – Root: צבא; Form: Plural noun in construct; Translation: “of hosts”; Notes: Military reference emphasizing divine power and authority.
- הִנְנִי (hinneni) – Root: הנה; Form: Interjection with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “Behold, I”; Notes: Emphatic self-introduction by the speaker.
- פֹקֵד (poqed) – Root: פקד; Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “attending to”; Notes: Often connotes divine punishment or visitation.
- עֲלֵיהֶם (ʿaleihem) – Root: על; Form: Preposition + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “upon them”; Notes: Refers to the object of YHWH’s attention or punishment.
- הַבַּחוּרִים (ha-bbaḥurim) – Root: בחר; Form: Noun masculine plural with definite article; Translation: “the young men”; Notes: Refers to prime-aged male population, often militarily capable.
- יָמֻתוּ (yamutu) – Root: מות; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they shall die”; Notes: Prophetic future declaration of judgment.
- בַחֶרֶב (ba-ḥerev) – Root: חרב; Form: Preposition + feminine singular noun with definite article; Translation: “by the sword”; Notes: Instrumental phrase indicating cause of death.
- בְּנֵיהֶם (benehem) – Root: בן; Form: Noun masculine plural construct + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “their sons”; Notes: Refers to the children of the guilty parties.
- וּבְנֹותֵיהֶם (u-ve-nototeihem) – Root: בת; Form: Conjunction + preposition + noun feminine plural construct + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “and their daughters”; Notes: Parallel to “their sons.”
- יָמֻתוּ (yamutu) – Root: מות; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they shall die”; Notes: Repetition emphasizes the totality of the coming judgment.
- בָּרָעָב (ba-raʿav) – Root: רעב; Form: Preposition + masculine singular noun with definite article; Translation: “by famine”; Notes: Specifies the second instrument of judgment.