אֱמֹר֙ אֶל־כָּל־עַ֣ם הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים לֵאמֹ֑ר כִּֽי־צַמְתֶּ֨ם וְסָפֹ֜וד בַּחֲמִישִׁ֣י וּבַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י וְזֶה֙ שִׁבְעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה הֲצֹ֥ום צַמְתֻּ֖נִי אָֽנִי׃
“Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh, and this seventy years, was it for Me that you fasted, for Me?
Morphology
- אֱמֹר (emor) – Root: אמר (amar); Form: Qal imperative masculine singular; Translation: “Say”; Notes: Command directed to the prophet to deliver YHWH’s message.
- אֶל (el) – Root: —; Form: Preposition; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces the addressees.
- כָּל (kol) – Root: כלל (kalal); Form: Noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “all of”; Notes: Intensifies the inclusiveness of the audience.
- עַם (ʿam) – Root: עם (ʿam); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “people”; Notes: Collective group addressed.
- הָאָרֶץ (ha-aretz) – Root: ארץ (erets); Form: Definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “the land”; Notes: Often refers to Judah.
- וְאֶל (ve-el) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction + preposition; Translation: “and to”; Notes: Extends the address to a second group.
- הַכֹּהֲנִים (ha-kohanim) – Root: כהן (kohen); Form: Definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “the priests”; Notes: The priestly class functioning in worship.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר (amar); Form: Preposition לְ + Qal infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces the content of the message.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “when”; Notes: Here introduces a temporal clause.
- צַמְתֶּם (tzamtem) – Root: צום (tzom); Form: Qal perfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “you fasted”; Notes: Refers to their long-standing ritual practice.
- וְסָפֹוד (ve-safod) – Root: ספד (safad); Form: Conjunction + Qal infinitive construct; Translation: “and to lament”; Notes: Lamentation as part of mourning rituals.
- בַּחֲמִישִׁי (ba-ḥamishi) – Root: חמש (ḥamesh); Form: Preposition בְּ + definite ordinal masculine singular; Translation: “in the fifth”; Notes: Refers to the fifth month.
- וּבַשְּׁבִיעִי (u-va-sheviʿi) – Root: שׁבע (shevaʿ); Form: Conjunction + preposition בְּ + definite ordinal masculine singular; Translation: “and in the seventh”; Notes: Refers to the seventh month.
- וְזֶה (ve-zeh) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction + demonstrative pronoun masculine singular; Translation: “and this”; Notes: Points to the following duration.
- שִׁבְעִים (shivʿim) – Root: שׁבע (shevaʿ); Form: Numeral masculine plural; Translation: “seventy”; Notes: Length of the fasting tradition.
- שָׁנָה (shanah) – Root: שׁנה (shanah); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “years”; Notes: Singular in form but used in counting expressions.
- הֲצֹום (ha-tzom) – Root: צום (tzom); Form: Interrogative prefix + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “is it the fasting”; Notes: Introduces a rhetorical question.
- צַמְתֻּנִי (tzamtuni) – Root: צום (tzom); Form: Qal perfect 2nd person masculine plural + suffix 1st person singular; Translation: “you fasted for me”; Notes: YHWH questions their motivation.
- אֲנִי (ani) – Root: —; Form: Independent pronoun 1st person singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: Adds emphasis to the rhetorical force.