לָכֵ֗ן כֹּֽה־אָמַ֞ר יְהוָ֤ה צְבָאֹות֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הִנְנִ֥י פֹקֵ֛ד אֶל־מֶ֥לֶךְ בָּבֶ֖ל וְאֶל־אַרְצֹ֑ו כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר פָּקַ֖דְתִּי אֶל־מֶ֥לֶךְ אַשּֽׁוּר׃
Therefore thus says YHWH of Hosts, the God of Yisraʾel: ‘Behold, I am visiting punishment upon the king of Bavel and upon his land, just as I visited upon the king of Ashshur.
Morphology
- לָכֵן (lakhen) – Root: —; Form: Adverb/conjunction; Translation: “Therefore”; Notes: Introduces a conclusion based on what preceded.
- כֹּה־אָמַר (koh-amar) – Root: אמר; Form: Adverb “thus” + Qal perfect 3rd masculine singular; Translation: “thus says”; Notes: Prophetic formula introducing divine speech.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: יהוה; Form: Proper divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The covenant name of Israel’s God.
- צְבָאוֹת (tzevaʾot) – Root: צבא; Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “of hosts”; Notes: Title for YHWH as commander of heavenly armies.
- אֱלֹהֵי (ʾelohei) – Root: אלה; Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “God of”; Notes: Denotes possession or relationship.
- יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisraʾel) – Root: ישראל; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yisraʾel”; Notes: Refers to the covenant people.
- הִנְנִי (hineni) – Root: —; Form: Particle of immediacy + 1st person pronoun; Translation: “Behold, I”; Notes: Indicates certainty and imminence of action.
- פֹקֵד (poqed) – Root: פקד; Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “visiting/punishing”; Notes: Common prophetic idiom for divine judgment or attention.
- אֶל־מֶלֶךְ (el-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Preposition אֶל + noun masculine singular; Translation: “upon the king of”; Notes: Direct object of divine judgment.
- בָּבֶל (Bavel) – Root: בבל; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Bavel/Babylon”; Notes: Represents the empire of Babylon.
- וְאֶל־אַרְצוֹ (ve-el-artso) – Root: ארץ; Form: Conjunction + preposition אֶל + noun feminine singular + 3rd masculine singular suffix; Translation: “and upon his land”; Notes: Extends judgment beyond the king to his domain.
- כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka-asher) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “just as”; Notes: Introduces comparison.
- פָּקַדְתִּי (paqadti) – Root: פקד; Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I visited”; Notes: Past reference to divine judgment already carried out.
- אֶל־מֶלֶךְ (el-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “upon the king of”; Notes: Parallels earlier phrase.
- אַשּׁוּר (Ashshur) – Root: אשׁור; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Ashshur/Assyria”; Notes: Refers to the empire judged earlier by YHWH.