אֹֽוי־לִ֣י אִמִּ֔י כִּ֣י יְלִדְתִּ֗נִי אִ֥ישׁ רִ֛יב וְאִ֥ישׁ מָדֹ֖ון לְכָל־הָאָ֑רֶץ לֹֽא־נָשִׁ֥יתִי וְלֹא־נָֽשׁוּ־בִ֖י כֻּלֹּ֥ה מְקַלְלַֽונִי׃ ס
Woe is me, my mother, for you have borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to all the land. I have not lent, and they have not lent to me, yet every one curses me.
Morphology
- אֹוי (ʾoy) – Root: —; Form: Interjection; Translation: “Woe”; Notes: Expresses lament or distress.
- לִי (li) – Root: ל (le); Form: Preposition + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “is me” or “to me”; Notes: Standard idiom of personal affliction.
- אִמִּי (immi) – Root: אם (ʾem); Form: Noun feminine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my mother”; Notes: Direct address expressing grief over birth.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for” or “because”; Notes: Introduces a causal explanation.
- יְלִדְתִּנִי (yelidtini) – Root: ילד (yalad); Form: Qal perfect 2nd person feminine singular + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “you have borne me”; Notes: The subject is the mother; direct object is the speaker.
- אִישׁ (ʾish) – Root: איש (ʾish); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a man”; Notes: Begins predicate describing speaker’s social role.
- רִיב (riv) – Root: ריב (riv); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “strife”; Notes: Legal or personal conflict.
- וְאִישׁ (veʾish) – Root: איש (ʾish); Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and a man”; Notes: Second predicate element.
- מָדֹון (madon) – Root: דן (din); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “contention”; Notes: Related to disputes and arguments.
- לְכָל־הָאָרֶץ (le-khol ha-aretz) – Root: כל (kol) / ארץ (ʾaretz); Form: Preposition + construct noun + definite noun; Translation: “to all the land”; Notes: Indicates the widespread nature of hostility.
- לֹא־נָשִׁיתִי (lo-nashiti) – Root: נשה (nashah); Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular + negation; Translation: “I have not lent”; Notes: Refers to financial dealings; defense against cause of hatred.
- וְלֹא־נָשׁוּ (ve-lo-nashu) – Root: נשה (nashah); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person plural + negation; Translation: “and they have not lent”; Notes: Continues claim of innocence.
- בִי (bi) – Root: ב (be); Form: Preposition + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “to me” or “with me”; Notes: Indicates interaction or relationship.
- כֻלֹּה (kullo) – Root: כל (kol); Form: Noun masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “every one of them”; Notes: Emphatic totality.
- מְקַלְלַונִי (meqaleluni) – Root: קלל (qalal); Form: Piel participle masculine plural + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “curses me”; Notes: Describes ongoing or habitual verbal hostility.