כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֹ֖ות לֵאמֹ֑ר מִשְׁפַּ֤ט אֱמֶת֙ שְׁפֹ֔טוּ וְחֶ֣סֶד וְרַֽחֲמִ֔ים עֲשׂ֖וּ אִ֥ישׁ אֶת־אָחִֽיו׃
“Thus said YHWH of Hosts, saying: ‘True judgment judge, and kindness and compassion do, each man to his brother.
Morphology
- כֹּה (koh) – Root: —; Form: Adverb; Translation: “thus”; Notes: Introduces a direct divine proclamation.
- אָמַר (amar) – Root: אמר (amar); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “said”; Notes: Marks YHWH as the speaker.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: הוה (havah); Form: Proper name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Divine speaker of the oracle.
- צְבָאוֹת (tzevaʾot) – Root: צבא (tzevaʾ); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “of hosts”; Notes: Military epithet emphasizing divine authority.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר (amar); Form: Preposition לְ + Qal infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces the content of YHWH’s command.
- מִשְׁפַּט (mishpat) – Root: שׁפט (shafat); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “judgment”; Notes: Refers to just legal decision-making.
- אֱמֶת (emet) – Root: אמת (emet); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “truth”; Notes: Qualifies the type of judgment required.
- שְׁפֹטוּ (shefotu) – Root: שׁפט (shafat); Form: Qal imperative masculine plural; Translation: “judge”; Notes: Direct command to render true justice.
- וְחֶסֶד (ve-chesed) – Root: חסד (chesed); Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and kindness”; Notes: Denotes covenantal loyalty and benevolence.
- וְרַחֲמִים (ve-raḥamim) – Root: רחם (raḥam); Form: Conjunction + noun masculine plural; Translation: “and compassion”; Notes: Emphasizes emotional mercy.
- עֲשׂוּ (asu) – Root: עשׂה (asah); Form: Qal imperative masculine plural; Translation: “do”; Notes: Commands active practice of kindness and compassion.
- אִישׁ (ish) – Root: אנשׁ (enosh); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “each man”; Notes: Introduces the relational object of compassion.
- אֶת (et) – Root: —; Form: Direct object marker; Translation: —; Notes: Marks the definite direct object “his brother.”
- אָחִיו (achiv) – Root: אח (ach); Form: Noun masculine singular + suffix 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “his brother”; Notes: Denotes community solidarity.