וְהֵ֨מָּה֙ אָמְר֣וּ אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֔הוּ יְהִ֤י יְהוָה֙ בָּ֔נוּ לְעֵ֖ד אֱמֶ֣ת וְנֶאֱמָ֑ן אִם־לֹ֡א כְּֽכָל־֠הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִֽשְׁלָחֲךָ֜ יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ אֵלֵ֖ינוּ כֵּ֥ן נַעֲשֶֽׂה׃
And they said to Yirmeyahu, “May YHWH be against us as a witness true and faithful, if not according to every word which YHWH your God sends you to us, so we will do.”
Morphology
- וְהֵמָּה (ve-hemmah) – Root: הֵם (hem); Form: Conjunction + independent pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “And they”; Notes: Introduces the subject of the speech.
- אָמְרוּ (ʾamru) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they said”; Notes: Main verb of the clause.
- אֶל־יִרְמְיָהוּ (ʾel-Yirmeyahu) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “to Yirmeyahu”; Notes: Indicates the addressee of the speech.
- יְהִי (yehi) – Root: היה (hayah); Form: Qal jussive 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “May he be”; Notes: Expresses a wish or invocation.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: Proper noun; Form: Tetragrammaton; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Invoked as the divine witness.
- בָּנוּ (banu) – Root: ב (be); Form: Preposition + 1st person common plural suffix; Translation: “against us”; Notes: Marks those under witness.
- לְעֵד (le-ʿed) – Root: עוד (ʿed); Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular absolute; Translation: “as a witness”; Notes: Defines YHWH’s role in their oath.
- אֱמֶת (ʾemet) – Root: אמת (ʾemet); Form: Noun feminine singular absolute; Translation: “true”; Notes: Qualifies the witness as trustworthy.
- וְנֶאֱמָן (ve-neʾeman) – Root: אמן (ʾaman); Form: Nifal participle masculine singular; Translation: “and faithful”; Notes: Adds reliability to YHWH’s witness role.
- אִם־לֹא (ʾim-lo) – Root: Particles; Form: Conditional particle + negative; Translation: “if not”; Notes: Conditional clause introducing their vow.
- כְּכָל־הַדָּבָר (ke-khol-ha-davar) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Preposition כְּ + noun “all” + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “according to every word”; Notes: Comprehensive condition.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: Particle; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “which”; Notes: Introduces the relative clause.
- יִשְׁלָחֲךָ (yishlaḥakha) – Root: שלח (shalaḥ); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “he sends you”; Notes: Refers to YHWH’s commission to the prophet.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: Proper noun; Form: Tetragrammaton; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The divine sender.
- אֱלֹהֶיךָ (ʾelohekha) – Root: אלוה (ʾeloah); Form: Noun masculine plural construct + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “your God”; Notes: Personal relationship emphasized.
- אֵלֵינוּ (ʾeleinu) – Root: אל (ʾel); Form: Preposition + 1st person common plural suffix; Translation: “to us”; Notes: Denotes the recipients of the prophetic message.
- כֵּן (ken) – Root: כן (ken); Form: Adverb; Translation: “so”; Notes: Affirmation of compliance.
- נַעֲשֶׂה (naʿaseh) – Root: עשה (ʿasah); Form: Qal imperfect 1st person common plural; Translation: “we will do”; Notes: Their oath of obedience to whatever YHWH commands.