כִּ֣י אִם־חַי־יְהוָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֶעֱלָ֜ה אֶת־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ צָפֹ֔ון וּמִכֹּל֙ הָֽאֲרָצֹ֔ות אֲשֶׁ֥ר הִדִּיחָ֖ם שָׁ֑מָּה וַהֲשִֽׁבֹתִים֙ עַל־אַדְמָתָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לַאֲבֹותָֽם׃ ס
But rather, ‘As YHWH lives, who brought up the children of Yisraʾel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them,’ and I will restore them to their land that I gave to their fathers.
Morphology
- כִּ֣י (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “But”; Notes: Contrasts the previous statement; emphatic reversal.
- אִם־ (im) – Root: אם (im); Form: Particle of oath or emphasis; Translation: “rather”; Notes: Used with “ki” to mean “surely” or “rather.”
- חַי־יְהוָ֗ה (ḥai-YHWH) – Root: חי (ḥay); Form: Adjective masculine singular construct + proper noun; Translation: “As YHWH lives”; Notes: Common oath formula declaring certainty.
- אֲשֶׁ֨ר (asher) – Root: אשר (ʾasher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces relative clause describing YHWH’s action.
- הֶעֱלָ֜ה (heʿelah) – Root: עלה (ʿalah); Form: Hiphil perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “brought up”; Notes: Refers to divine deliverance or return from exile.
- אֶת־ (et) – Root: את (ʾet); Form: Direct object marker; Translation: —; Notes: Introduces the object “the children of Yisraʾel.”
- בְּנֵ֤י (benei) – Root: בן (ben); Form: Construct plural masculine; Translation: “children of”; Notes: Construct form linking to “Yisraʾel.”
- יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ (Yisraʾel) – Root: ישראל (Yisraʾel); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yisraʾel”; Notes: Refers to the covenant people of YHWH.
- מֵאֶ֣רֶץ (me-ʾerets) – Root: ארץ (ʾerets); Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular; Translation: “from the land of”; Notes: Indicates origin of return.
- צָפֹ֔ון (tsafon) – Root: צפון (tsafon); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “the north”; Notes: Refers to exile territories (e.g., Assyria, Babylon).
- וּמִכֹּל֙ (u-mi-kol) – Root: כל (kol); Form: Conjunction + preposition + construct noun masculine singular; Translation: “and from all”; Notes: Expands the geographic scope of return.
- הָֽאֲרָצֹ֔ות (ha-aratsot) – Root: ארץ (ʾerets); Form: Definite noun feminine plural; Translation: “the lands”; Notes: Refers to all nations of dispersion.
- אֲשֶׁ֥ר (asher) – Root: אשר (ʾasher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “where”; Notes: Introduces clause about the dispersion.
- הִדִּיחָ֖ם (hiddiḥam) – Root: נדח (nadach); Form: Hiphil perfect 3rd person masculine singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “He had driven them”; Notes: Refers to divine scattering in exile.
- שָׁ֑מָּה (shammah) – Root: שׁם (sham); Form: Adverb of place; Translation: “there”; Notes: Indicates destination of exile.
- וַהֲשִֽׁבֹתִים֙ (va-haʾshivotim) – Root: שׁוב (shuv); Form: Hiphil perfect 1st person singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix with vav-consecutive; Translation: “and I will restore them”; Notes: Promise of restoration and return.
- עַל־אַדְמָתָ֔ם (ʿal-admatam) – Root: אדמה (adamah); Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “to their land”; Notes: Land given by covenantal promise.
- אֲשֶׁ֥ר (asher) – Root: אשר (ʾasher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers to the land given to the ancestors.
- נָתַ֖תִּי (natatti) – Root: נתן (natan); Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I gave”; Notes: Past act of divine gift or inheritance.
- לַאֲבֹותָֽם (la-avotam) – Root: אב (ʾav); Form: Preposition + plural noun with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “to their fathers”; Notes: Refers to the patriarchs and ancestral inheritance.