הֹ֣וי רֹעִ֗ים מְאַבְּדִ֧ים וּמְפִצִ֛ים אֶת־צֹ֥אן מַרְעִיתִ֖י נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the flock of My pasture!” declares YHWH.
Morphology
- הֹ֣וי (hoy) – Root: הוי; Form: Interjection; Translation: “Woe”; Notes: A prophetic cry of judgment or lament directed toward the subjects that follow.
- רֹעִ֗ים (roʿim) – Root: רעה; Form: Masculine plural participle; Translation: “shepherds”; Notes: Refers metaphorically to leaders or rulers of Yisraʾel responsible for care of the people.
- מְאַבְּדִ֧ים (meʾabbedim) – Root: אבד; Form: Piel participle masculine plural; Translation: “destroying”; Notes: Denotes intensive action; the leaders are actively causing ruin.
- וּמְפִצִ֛ים (u-mefitsim) – Root: פוץ; Form: Piel participle masculine plural with conjunction; Translation: “and scattering”; Notes: The conjunction וְ links to the previous participle, emphasizing parallel destructive activity.
- אֶת־צֹ֥אן (et-tsoʾn) – Root: צאן; Form: Definite direct object marker + noun feminine singular (collective); Translation: “the flock”; Notes: Refers metaphorically to the people of Yisraʾel under divine care.
- מַרְעִיתִ֖י (marʿiti) – Root: רעה; Form: Noun feminine singular in construct with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “of My pasture”; Notes: Indicates that the flock belongs to YHWH’s designated care.
- נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה (neʾum-YHWH) – Root: נאם; Form: Noun masculine singular construct + proper name; Translation: “declaration of YHWH”; Notes: A prophetic formula introducing or concluding a divine utterance.