וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵיהֶ֡ם ס כֹּֽה־אָמַר֩ יְהוָ֨ה צְבָאֹ֜ות אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל שְׁת֤וּ וְשִׁכְרוּ֙ וּקְי֔וּ וְנִפְל֖וּ וְלֹ֣א תָק֑וּמוּ מִפְּנֵ֣י הַחֶ֔רֶב אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י שֹׁלֵ֖חַ בֵּינֵיכֶֽם׃
“And you shall say to them, ‘Thus said YHWH of armies, the God of Yisraʾel: “Drink and be drunk and vomit and fall and do not rise, because of the sword that I am sending among you.”’
Morphology
- וְאָמַרְתָּ (ve-amarta) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal perfect 2nd person masculine singular with conjunction; Translation: “And you shall say”; Notes: Instruction directed to the prophet.
- אֲלֵיהֶם (aleihem) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “to them”; Notes: Refers to the addressees of the prophetic message.
- ס (samekh) – Notes: Masoretic marginal mark indicating a pause or paragraph division (setumah); not part of the spoken text.
- כֹּה־אָמַר (koh-ʾamar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “Thus said”; Notes: Formulaic prophetic introduction.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: Divine name; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The covenantal name of God.
- צְבָאֹות (tsevaʾot) – Root: צבא (tsava); Form: Plural noun in construct; Translation: “of armies”; Notes: Title of divine sovereignty in military context.
- אֱלֹהֵי (ʾelohei) – Root: אלה (ʾelohim); Form: Construct plural; Translation: “God of”; Notes: Possessive construct with the following proper noun.
- יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisraʾel) – Root: Proper noun; Form: Proper name; Translation: “Yisraʾel”; Notes: Refers to the nation or people of Israel.
- שְׁת֤וּ (shetu) – Root: שתה (shatah); Form: Qal imperative 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “Drink!”; Notes: Command to drink, setting off a chain of consequences.
- וְשִׁכְרוּ (ve-shikhru) – Root: שכר (shakhar); Form: Qal imperative 2nd person masculine plural with conjunction; Translation: “and be drunk!”; Notes: Parallels the drinking, emphasizing excess and judgment.
- וּקְיוּ (u-qiyu) – Root: קיא (qiʾ); Form: Qal imperative 2nd person masculine plural with conjunction; Translation: “and vomit!”; Notes: Rare verb; vivid prophetic imagery of physical and moral collapse.
- וְנִפְלוּ (ve-niflu) – Root: נפל (nafal); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural (jussive-like) with conjunction; Translation: “and fall!”; Notes: Continuation of chain reaction due to divine judgment.
- וְלֹא (ve-lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Conjunction with negative particle; Translation: “and not”; Notes: Introduces a negated verb in sequence.
- תָק֑וּמוּ (taqumu) – Root: קום (qum); Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “you shall rise”; Notes: Negated verb: they shall not recover or rise again.
- מִפְּנֵי (mi-penei) – Root: פנה (panah); Form: Preposition מִן + construct plural of “face”; Translation: “from before”; Notes: Indicates cause or agency.
- הַחֶרֶב (ha-ḥerev) – Root: חרב (ḥerev); Form: Definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “the sword”; Notes: Represents violence or war sent by YHWH.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: Relative pronoun; Form: Particle; Translation: “which” or “that”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause.
- אָנֹכִי (anokhi) – Root: Personal pronoun; Form: 1st person singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: Emphatic form of “I.”
- שֹׁלֵחַ (sholeaḥ) – Root: שלח (shalakh); Form: Qal active participle masculine singular; Translation: “am sending”; Notes: Present participle implying ongoing or imminent action.
- בֵּינֵיכֶם (beineikhem) – Root: בין (bein); Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “among you”; Notes: Locative force, placing the sword within the people.