לֵאמֹ֗ר אֶל־הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ לְבֵית־יְהוָ֣ה צְבָאֹ֔ות וְאֶל־הַנְּבִיאִ֖ים לֵאמֹ֑ר הַֽאֶבְכֶּה֙ בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַחֲמִשִׁ֔י הִנָּזֵ֕ר כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשִׂ֔יתִי זֶ֖ה כַּמֶּ֥ה שָׁנִֽים׃ פ
To say to the priests who are of the house of YHWH of Hosts and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month, abstain as I have done this how many years.”
Morphology
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר (amar); Form: Preposition לְ + Qal infinitive construct; Translation: “to say”; Notes: Introduces reported speech.
- אֶל (el) – Root: —; Form: Preposition; Translation: “to”; Notes: Marks the indirect object.
- הַכֹּהֲנִים (ha-kohanim) – Root: כהן (kohen); Form: Definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “the priests”; Notes: Refers to the priestly group serving at the sanctuary.
- אֲשֶׁר (asher) – Root: —; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause modifying the priests.
- לְבֵית־יְהוָה (le-beit-YHWH) – Root: בית (bayit); Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine singular construct + proper name; Translation: “to the house of YHWH”; Notes: Specifies priestly association with the temple.
- צְבָאוֹת (tzevaʾot) – Root: צבא (tzevaʾ); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “of hosts”; Notes: Epithet of YHWH.
- וְאֶל (ve-el) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction + preposition; Translation: “and to”; Notes: Extends the indirect object to another group.
- הַנְּבִיאִים (ha-neviʾim) – Root: נבא (navaʾ); Form: Definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “the prophets”; Notes: Refers to the prophetic community.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר (amar); Form: Preposition לְ + Qal infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces the content of the question being asked.
- הַאֶבְכֶּה (ha-evkeh) – Root: בכה (bakha); Form: Interrogative prefix + Qal imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “shall I weep”; Notes: The speaker asks whether the practice should continue.
- בַּחֹדֶשׁ (ba-ḥodesh) – Root: חדש (ḥodesh); Form: Preposition בְּ + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “in the month”; Notes: Refers to a specific time of ritual activity.
- הַחֲמִשִׁי (ha-ḥamishi) – Root: חמש (ḥamesh); Form: Definite ordinal masculine singular; Translation: “the fifth”; Notes: Specifies the particular month under discussion.
- הִנָּזֵר (hinnazer) – Root: נזר (nazar); Form: Nifal infinitive absolute; Translation: “to abstain”; Notes: Indicates ritual abstention.
- כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka-asher) – Root: אשר (asher); Form: Preposition כְּ + relative pronoun; Translation: “as”; Notes: Introduces a comparison based on past practice.
- עָשִׂיתִי (asitii) – Root: עשׂה (asah); Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I have done”; Notes: Describes prior observance of ritual mourning.
- זֶה (zeh) – Root: —; Form: Demonstrative pronoun masculine singular; Translation: “this”; Notes: Refers back to the practice in question.
- כַּמֶּה (ka-mmah) – Root: —; Form: Preposition כְּ + interrogative; Translation: “how many”; Notes: Introduces an inquiry regarding duration.
- שָׁנִים (shanim) – Root: שׁנה (shanah); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “years”; Notes: Refers to the timespan of the observed practice.
- פ (pe) – Root: —; Form: Section marker; Translation: —; Notes: Masoretic parashah break.