וְאֶל־צִדְקִיָּ֤ה מֶֽלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה֙ דִּבַּ֔רְתִּי כְּכָל־הַדְּבָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה לֵאמֹ֑ר הָבִ֨יאוּ אֶת־צַוְּארֵיכֶ֜ם בְּעֹ֣ל מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֗ל וְעִבְד֥וּ אֹתֹ֛ו וְעַמֹּ֖ו וִֽחְיֽוּ׃
And to Tsidqiyahu king of Yehuda I spoke according to all these words, saying, “Bring your necks into the yoke of the king of Bavel, and serve him and his people, and live.
Morphology
- וְאֶל־צִדְקִיָּה (ve-el-Tsidqiyahu) – Root: צדק; Form: Conjunction + preposition אֶל + proper name; Translation: “and to Tsidqiyahu”; Notes: King of Yehudah during the final years before the Babylonian exile.
- מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה (melekh-Yehudah) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun masculine singular in construct + proper name; Translation: “king of Yehudah”; Notes: Identifies Tsidqiyahu’s position.
- דִּבַּרְתִּי (dibarti) – Root: דבר; Form: Piel perfect 1st person common singular; Translation: “I spoke”; Notes: Piel emphasizes the intentional communication of a message.
- כְּכָל־הַדְּבָרִים (ke-khol-had-devarim) – Root: דבר; Form: Preposition כְּ + noun masculine plural with definite article; Translation: “according to all the words”; Notes: Indicates correspondence with previously given instructions.
- הָאֵלֶּה (haʾelleh) – Root: אלה; Form: Demonstrative pronoun, common plural; Translation: “these”; Notes: Points to the specific prophetic instructions already stated.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal infinitive construct with prefixed לְ; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces the direct quotation.
- הָבִיאוּ (haviʾu) – Root: בוא; Form: Hifil imperative masculine plural; Translation: “bring”; Notes: Command in the causative form, urging voluntary submission.
- אֶת־צַוְּארֵיכֶם (et-tsavveʾreikhem) – Root: צואר; Form: Direct object marker + noun masculine plural construct + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “your necks”; Notes: Figurative expression for yielding to foreign authority.
- בְּעֹל (be-ʿol) – Root: עלל; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “into the yoke of”; Notes: Symbol of servitude.
- מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל (melekh-Bavel) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun masculine singular in construct + proper name; Translation: “king of Bavel”; Notes: Refers to Nebukhadnetstsar.
- וְעִבְדוּ (ve-ʿivdu) – Root: עבד; Form: Qal imperative masculine plural; Translation: “and serve”; Notes: Command to submit and render service.
- אֹתו (oto) – Root: את; Form: Direct object marker + 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to the king of Bavel.
- וְעַמּו (ve-ʿammo) – Root: עם; Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “and his people”; Notes: Refers to the Babylonian populace under the king’s authority.
- וִחְיוּ (viḥyu) – Root: חיה; Form: Qal imperative masculine plural with prefixed conjunction; Translation: “and live”; Notes: Promise of life if the command is obeyed.