וְעַתָּה כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאֹות אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לָמָה אַתֶּם עֹשִׂים רָעָה גְדֹולָה אֶל־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם לְהַכְרִית לָכֶם אִישׁ־וְאִשָּׁה עֹולֵל וְיֹונֵק מִתֹּוךְ יְהוּדָה לְבִלְתִּי הֹותִיר לָכֶם שְׁאֵרִית׃
And now, thus says YHWH, God of Hosts, God of Yisraʾel: ‘Why are you doing great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, from the midst of Yehuda, so as not to leave for you a remnant,
Morphology
- וְעַתָּה (ve-ʿattah) – Root: עת (ʿet); Form: Conjunction + adverb; Translation: “and now”; Notes: Introduces a new declaration.
- כֹּה־אָמַר (koh-ʾamar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Adverb + Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “thus says”; Notes: Prophetic formula.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: Proper noun; Form: Tetragrammaton; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Covenant name of God.
- אֱלֹהֵי (ʾelohei) – Root: אלה (ʾeloah); Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “God of”; Notes: Governs the following title.
- צְבָאֹות (tzevaʾot) – Root: צבא (tzeva); Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “hosts”; Notes: Military and heavenly armies.
- אֱלֹהֵי (ʾelohei) – Root: אלה (ʾeloah); Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “God of”; Notes: Title repetition, emphasizing authority.
- יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisraʾel) – Root: Proper noun; Form: Proper name; Translation: “Yisraʾel”; Notes: Covenant people.
- לָמָה (lamah) – Root: מה (mah); Form: Interrogative adverb; Translation: “why”; Notes: Rhetorical question.
- אַתֶּם (ʾatem) – Root: Pronoun; Form: Independent pronoun masculine plural; Translation: “you”; Notes: Emphatic subject.
- עֹשִׂים (ʿosim) – Root: עשה (ʿasah); Form: Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “doing”; Notes: Ongoing action of evil.
- רָעָה (raʿah) – Root: רעע (raʿaʿ); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “evil”; Notes: Moral wickedness.
- גְדֹולָה (gedolah) – Root: גדל (gadal); Form: Adjective feminine singular; Translation: “great”; Notes: Intensifies the magnitude of evil.
- אֶל־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם (el-nafshotekhem) – Root: נפשׁ (nefesh); Form: Preposition + noun feminine plural + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “against your souls”; Notes: Self-destructive behavior.
- לְהַכְרִית (le-hakhrit) – Root: כרת (karat); Form: Hifil infinitive construct; Translation: “to cut off”; Notes: Refers to extermination.
- לָכֶם (lakhem) – Root: ל (le) + pronoun; Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “from you”; Notes: Marks the affected group.
- אִישׁ (ʾish) – Root: אישׁ (ʾish); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “man”; Notes: Represents adult males.
- וְאִשָּׁה (ve-ishah) – Root: אשׁה (ishah); Form: Conjunction + noun feminine singular; Translation: “and woman”; Notes: Adult females.
- עֹולֵל (ʿolel) – Root: עלל (ʿalal); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “child”; Notes: Young infant.
- וְיֹונֵק (ve-yoneq) – Root: ינק (yanaq); Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “and suckling”; Notes: Nursing infant.
- מִתֹּוךְ (mitokh) – Root: תוך (tokh); Form: Preposition; Translation: “from the midst of”; Notes: Spatial preposition.
- יְהוּדָה (Yehudah) – Root: Proper noun; Form: Proper name; Translation: “Yehudah”; Notes: The southern kingdom.
- לְבִלְתִּי (le-vilti) – Root: Particle; Form: Preposition + negative particle; Translation: “so as not to”; Notes: Expresses intended prevention.
- הֹותִיר (hotir) – Root: יתר (yatar); Form: Hifil infinitive construct; Translation: “leave”; Notes: To allow to remain.
- לָכֶם (lakhem) – Root: Preposition + pronoun; Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “for you”; Notes: Possessive dative.
- שְׁאֵרִית (sheʾerit) – Root: שׁאר (shaʾar); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “remnant”; Notes: Survivors, those left after judgment.