שָׂמָהּ֙ לִשְׁמָמָ֔ה אָבְלָ֥ה עָלַ֖י שְׁמֵמָ֑ה נָשַׁ֨מָּה֙ כָּל־הָאָ֔רֶץ כִּ֛י אֵ֥ין אִ֖ישׁ שָׂ֥ם עַל־לֵֽב׃
He has made her a desolation, she mourns over Me—desolate; the whole land is laid waste, because there is no man who sets it upon the heart.
Morphology
- שָׂמָהּ (samah) – Root: שׂים; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular + 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “He has made her”; Notes: Refers to YHWH’s act of making the land desolate.
- לִשְׁמָמָה (li-shemamah) – Root: שׁמם; Form: Preposition לְ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “a desolation”; Notes: Purpose/result of the verb “He has made.”
- אָבְלָה (avlah) – Root: אבל; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “she mourns”; Notes: Personification of the land grieving its condition.
- עָלַי (ʿalay) – Root: על; Form: Preposition + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “over Me”; Notes: Possibly refers to YHWH or the prophet lamenting the destruction.
- שְׁמֵמָה (shememah) – Root: שׁמם; Form: Noun or adjective feminine singular; Translation: “desolate”; Notes: Repetition for emphasis—both emotional and physical devastation.
- נָשַׁמָּה (nashammah) – Root: שׁמם; Form: Niphal perfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “is laid waste”; Notes: Passive form—indicates devastation inflicted from outside.
- כָּל־הָאָרֶץ (kol-ha-aretz) – Root: ארץ; Form: Construct noun + definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “the whole land”; Notes: Universal scope of destruction.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “because”; Notes: Introduces the cause or explanation.
- אֵין (ein) – Root: אין; Form: Negative existential particle; Translation: “there is not”; Notes: Denotes absence.
- אִישׁ (ish) – Root: אישׁ; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “man”; Notes: No one is responding to or acknowledging the disaster.
- שָׂם (sam) – Root: שׂים; Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “puts” / “sets”; Notes: Suggests internalization or paying attention.
- עַל־לֵב (ʿal-lev) – Root: לבב; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “upon the heart”; Notes: Idiom meaning “to consider” or “to take seriously.”