כֹּֽה־אָמַ֞ר יְהוָ֧ה צְבָאֹ֛ות אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר שָׁבַ֞רְתִּי אֶת־עֹ֖ל מֶ֥לֶךְ בָּבֶֽל׃
“Thus said YHWH of Hosts, the God of Yisraʾel, saying, ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Bavel.
Morphology
- כֹּה (koh) – Root: כה; Form: Adverb; Translation: “thus”; Notes: Introduces a direct prophetic declaration.
- אָמַר (ʾamar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “said”; Notes: Marks the speech formula in prophetic oracles.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: Divine Name; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Tetragrammaton, covenant name of the God of Yisraʾel.
- צְבָאוֹת (tzevaʾot) – Root: צבע; Form: Noun masculine plural in construct; Translation: “of hosts”; Notes: Refers to heavenly armies or divine forces.
- אֱלֹהֵי (ʾelohei) – Root: אלה; Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “God of”; Notes: Construct form links to Yisraʾel as the object of divine sovereignty.
- יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisraʾel) – Root: ישראל; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yisraʾel”; Notes: Refers to the covenant people.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾmor) – Root: אמר; Form: Preposition + Qal infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces the content of the divine declaration.
- שָׁבַרְתִּי (shavarti) – Root: שׁבר; Form: Qal perfect 1st person common singular; Translation: “I have broken”; Notes: Perfect aspect emphasizes completed action by YHWH.
- אֶת־עֹל (ʾet-ʿol) – Root: עול; Form: Direct object marker + noun masculine singular; Translation: “the yoke of”; Notes: Metaphor for oppressive rule or subjugation.
- מֶלֶךְ (melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “king”; Notes: Identifies the ruler whose domination is broken.
- בָּבֶל (Bavel) – Root: בבל; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Bavel”; Notes: Refers to Babylon, symbol of imperial power.