כִּי֩ קֹ֨ול כְּחֹולָ֜ה שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי צָרָה֙ כְּמַבְכִּירָ֔ה קֹ֧ול בַּת־צִיֹּ֛ון תִּתְיַפֵּ֖חַ תְּפָרֵ֣שׂ כַּפֶּ֑יהָ אֹֽוי־נָ֣א לִ֔י כִּֽי־עָיְפָ֥ה נַפְשִׁ֖י לְהֹרְגִֽים׃ פ
For a voice like that of a sick woman I have heard, distress like one bearing her first child, the voice of the daughter of Tsiyyon. She gasps, she spreads out her hands: “Woe is me, for my soul is weary of killers.”
Morphology
- כִּי֩ (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “For”; Notes: Introduces a reason or explanation.
- קֹ֨ול (qol) – Root: קול (qol); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a voice”; Notes: Beginning the subject of the clause.
- כְּחֹולָ֜ה (ke-ḥolah) – Root: חלה (ḥalah); Form: Preposition + feminine singular participle; Translation: “like a sick woman”; Notes: Simile indicating extreme suffering or weakness.
- שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי (shamaʿti) – Root: שמע (shamaʿ); Form: Qal perfect 1st person common singular; Translation: “I have heard”; Notes: The prophet’s firsthand sensory report.
- צָרָה֙ (tzarah) – Root: צרר (tsarar); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “distress”; Notes: Emotionally charged word for anguish or trouble.
- כְּמַבְכִּירָ֔ה (ke-mavkira) – Root: בכר (bakhar); Form: Preposition + Piel participle feminine singular; Translation: “like one bearing her first child”; Notes: Intense image of pain likened to childbirth.
- קֹ֧ול (qol) – Root: קול (qol); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a voice”; Notes: Resumes the subject, identifying it specifically.
- בַּת־צִיֹּ֛ון (bat-Tsiyon) – Roots: בת (bat), ציון (Tsiyon); Form: Construct noun + proper noun; Translation: “the daughter of Tsiyon”; Notes: Personification of the city of Yisraʾel as a woman.
- תִּתְיַפֵּ֖חַ (tityappeaḥ) – Root: יפח (yafach); Form: Hitpael imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “she gasps”; Notes: Reflexive verb, portrays breathless desperation.
- תְּפָרֵ֣שׂ (tefaresh) – Root: פרשׂ (paras); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “she spreads”; Notes: Action of reaching out in helplessness or prayer.
- כַּפֶּ֑יהָ (kappeha) – Root: כף (kaf); Form: Dual noun with 3rd person feminine singular suffix; Translation: “her hands”; Notes: Literal term, may imply gesture of supplication or despair.
- אֹֽוי־נָ֣א (oy-na) – Root: אוי (oy); Form: Interjection + particle of entreaty; Translation: “Woe is me”; Notes: Exclamation of grief, intensified by “na.”
- לִ֔י (li) – Root: ל (le); Form: Preposition + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Reinforces personal suffering.
- כִּֽי־עָיְפָ֥ה (ki-ʿayefah) – Root: עיף (ʿayaf); Form: Conjunction + adjective feminine singular; Translation: “for [she is] weary”; Notes: Cause of lament, points to exhaustion or despair.
- נַפְשִׁ֖י (nafshi) – Root: נפשׁ (nefesh); Form: Noun feminine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my soul”; Notes: Refers to the inner life or person of Tsiyon.
- לְהֹרְגִֽים (le-horgim) – Root: הרג (harag); Form: Preposition + Qal active participle masculine plural; Translation: “of killers”; Notes: Those who threaten her life; the cause of her fear and exhaustion.