לָ֤מָּה תָמ֨וּתוּ֙ אַתָּ֣ה וְעַמֶּ֔ךָ בַּחֶ֖רֶב בָּרָעָ֣ב וּבַדָּ֑בֶר֙ כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙ דִּבֶּ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה אֶל־הַגֹּ֕וי אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יַעֲבֹ֖ד אֶת־מֶ֥לֶךְ בָּבֶֽל׃
Why should you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as YHWH has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Bavel?
Morphology
- לָמָּה (lammah) – Root: —; Form: Interrogative particle; Translation: “why”; Notes: Introduces a rhetorical question challenging the hearer’s reasoning.
- תָמוּתוּ (tamutu) – Root: מות; Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “should you die”; Notes: Expresses a potential or inevitable outcome if conditions persist.
- אַתָּה (attah) – Root: —; Form: Independent personal pronoun, masculine singular; Translation: “you”; Notes: Refers directly to Tsidqiyahu, the addressee.
- וְעַמֶּךָ (ve-ʿammekha) – Root: עם; Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “and your people”; Notes: Includes the nation under the king’s leadership.
- בַּחֶרֶב (ba-ḥerev) – Root: חרב; Form: Preposition בְּ + definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “by the sword”; Notes: Symbolic of military defeat.
- בָּרָעָב (ba-raʿav) – Root: רעב; Form: Preposition בְּ + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “by the famine”; Notes: Represents deprivation due to siege or war.
- וּבַדָּבֶר (u-va-daver) – Root: דבר; Form: Conjunction + preposition בְּ + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “and by the pestilence”; Notes: Common prophetic triad with sword and famine.
- כַּאֲשֶׁר (kaʾasher) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “as / just as”; Notes: Introduces a comparison with previous divine statements.
- דִּבֶּר (dibber) – Root: דבר; Form: Piel perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “he has spoken”; Notes: Refers to YHWH’s declared word.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: —; Form: Divine name (Tetragrammaton); Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Covenant name of Israel’s God.
- אֶל־הַגֹּוי (el-haggoy) – Root: גוי; Form: Preposition אֶל + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “concerning the nation”; Notes: Marks the nation as the topic of YHWH’s pronouncement.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: —; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “that / which”; Notes: Introduces a clause describing the nation’s refusal.
- לֹא־יַעֲבֹד (lo-yaʿavod) – Root: עבד; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “will not serve”; Notes: Refers to refusal of submission to Babylon.
- אֶת־מֶלֶךְ (et-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Direct object marker + noun masculine singular; Translation: “the king of”; Notes: Specifies the object of the service.
- בָּבֶל (Bavel) – Root: —; Form: Proper name; Translation: “Bavel”; Notes: Refers to the Babylonian empire.