כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה אִם־לֹ֥א בְרִיתִ֖י יֹומָ֣ם וָלָ֑יְלָה חֻקֹּ֛ות שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָ֖רֶץ לֹא־שָֽׂמְתִּי׃
Thus says YHWH: ‘If not for My covenant with day and night, the statutes of heaven and earth I would not have established;
Morphology
- כֹּ֚ה (koh) – Root: כה; Form: Demonstrative adverb; Translation: “Thus”; Notes: Introduces a prophetic declaration.
- אָמַ֣ר (amar) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “said”; Notes: Refers to YHWH’s direct speech.
- יְהוָ֔ה (YHWH) – Root: Divine Name; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The covenantal God of Yisraʾel.
- אִם־לֹ֥א (im-loʾ) – Root: אם + לא; Form: Conditional particle + negation; Translation: “If not…”; Notes: Begins a conditional clause, often rhetorical.
- בְרִיתִ֖י (beriti) – Root: ברית; Form: Construct noun + 1cs suffix; Translation: “My covenant”; Notes: Refers to YHWH’s enduring covenant, possibly with creation or Israel.
- יֹומָ֣ם וָלָ֑יְלָה (yomam va-laylah) – Roots: יום, לילה; Form: Nouns in temporal expression; Translation: “day and night”; Notes: Symbolizes continuity and divine order.
- חֻקֹּ֛ות (ḥuqqot) – Root: חקק; Form: Feminine plural absolute noun; Translation: “statutes” or “ordinances”; Notes: Refers to the fixed laws of creation.
- שָׁמַ֥יִם (shamayim) – Root: שׁמה (related); Form: Plural noun; Translation: “heaven(s)”; Notes: Refers to the skies or heavens in general.
- וָאָ֖רֶץ (vaʾaretz) – Root: ארץ; Form: Feminine singular noun with conjunctive vav; Translation: “and earth”; Notes: The earth in contrast to the heavens above.
- לֹא־שָֽׂמְתִּי׃ (loʾ-samti) – Root: שים; Form: Qal perfect 1st person common singular + negation; Translation: “I would not have established”; Notes: The rhetorical structure implies that YHWH did indeed establish the cosmic order by covenant.