כִּֽחֲשׁוּ֙ בַּיהוָ֔ה וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ לֹא־ה֑וּא וְלֹא־תָבֹ֤וא עָלֵ֨ינוּ֙ רָעָ֔ה וְחֶ֥רֶב וְרָעָ֖ב לֹ֥וא נִרְאֶֽה׃
They have denied YHWH and said, “It is not He! Evil shall not come upon us, and we shall not see sword and famine.”
Morphology
- כִּֽחֲשׁוּ (kiḥashu) – Root: כחש; Form: Piel perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they have denied”; Notes: Strong denial or rejection, often with religious or moral implications.
- בַּיהוָ֔ה (ba-YHWH) – Root: יהוה; Form: Preposition + divine name; Translation: “in YHWH”; Notes: The object of their denial, emphasizing betrayal of covenant relationship.
- וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ (vayyoʾmeru) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol (narrative past) 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “and they said”; Notes: Introduces their speech, continuing the denial.
- לֹא־ה֑וּא (lo hu) – Root: הוא; Form: Negative particle + pronoun masculine singular; Translation: “It is not He”; Notes: Rejection of divine agency or involvement in coming judgment.
- וְלֹא־תָבֹ֤וא (ve-lo tavo) – Root: בוא; Form: Conjunction + Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine singular; Translation: “and shall not come”; Notes: Denial of impending disaster.
- עָלֵ֨ינוּ (ʿaleinu) – Root: על; Form: Preposition + 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “upon us”; Notes: The presumed immunity of the people from divine punishment.
- רָעָ֔ה (raʿah) – Root: רעע; Form: Noun feminine singular absolute; Translation: “evil” or “disaster”; Notes: Generic term for divine judgment or calamity.
- וְחֶ֥רֶב (ve-ḥerev) – Root: חרב; Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “sword”; Notes: Symbol of war or military destruction.
- וְרָעָ֖ב (ve-raʿav) – Root: רעב; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “famine”; Notes: Often paired with sword as dual threats in prophetic judgment.
- לֹ֥וא נִרְאֶֽה (lo nireʾeh) – Root: ראה; Form: Negative particle + Niphal imperfect 1st person plural; Translation: “we shall not see”; Notes: Denial of any future experience of the predicted punishments.