אָסֵ֨ף אָדָ֜ם וּבְהֵמָ֗ה אָסֵ֤ף עֹוף־הַשָּׁמַ֨יִם֙ וּדְגֵ֣י הַיָּ֔ם וְהַמַּכְשֵׁלֹ֖ות אֶת־הָרְשָׁעִ֑ים וְהִכְרַתִּ֣י אֶת־הָאָדָ֗ם מֵעַ֛ל פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָ֖ה נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃
“I will sweep away human and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea and the stumbling-blocks of the wicked, and I will cut off humankind from upon the face of the ground,” declares YHWH.
Morphology
- אָסֵף (asef) – Root: אסף (ʼasaf); Form: Qal imperfect 1cs; Translation: “I will sweep away”; Notes: Opens the judgment oracle with decisive divine action.
- אָדָם (adam) – Root: אדם (ʼadam); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “human”; Notes: Collective reference to humanity.
- וּבְהֵמָה (u-vehemah) – Root: בהם (behem); Form: Conjunction + preposition בְ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “and beast”; Notes: Preposition marks inclusion of animals in the sweeping judgment.
- אָסֵף (asef) – Root: אסף (ʼasaf); Form: Qal imperfect 1cs; Translation: “I will sweep away”; Notes: Repetition for emphasis, characteristic of prophetic diction.
- עֹוף (ʿof) – Root: עוף (ʿof); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “bird”; Notes: Part of the triad: humans, land animals, and birds.
- הַשָּׁמַיִם (ha-shamayim) – Root: שׁמה (shamah); Form: Definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “of the heavens”; Notes: Modifies עֹוף in a construct relationship.
- וּדְגֵי (u-degei) – Root: דגה (dagah); Form: Conjunction + noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “and fish of”; Notes: Begins the construct chain with הַיָּם.
- הַיָּם (ha-yam) – Root: ים (yam); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the sea”; Notes: Completes the construct structure.
- וְהַמַּכְשֵׁלֹות (ve-ha-makhshelot) – Root: כשׁל (kashal); Form: Conjunction + definite noun feminine plural; Translation: “and the stumbling-blocks”; Notes: Likely meaning idols or causes of sin.
- אֶת־הָרְשָׁעִים (’et-ha-reshaʿim) – Root: רשע (rashaʿ); Form: Direct object marker + definite noun masculine plural; Translation: “the wicked”; Notes: Target of judgment; connected syntactically to the stumbling-blocks.
- וְהִכְרַתִּי (ve-hikhratti) – Root: כרת (karat); Form: Conjunction + Hiphil perfect 1cs; Translation: “and I will cut off”; Notes: Strong covenantal judgment verb used frequently in prophetic texts.
- אֶת־הָאָדָם (’et-ha-adam) – Root: אדם (ʼadam); Form: Direct object marker + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “humankind”; Notes: Emphasizes totality of the judgment.
- מֵעַל (meʿal) – Root: על (ʿal); Form: Preposition with prefixed מִן + עַל; Translation: “from upon”; Notes: Standard prophetic formula for removal from the land.
- פְּנֵי (penei) – Root: פנה (panah); Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “face of”; Notes: Often used idiomatically for surface or presence.
- הָאֲדָמָה (ha-adamah) – Root: אדם (ʼadam); Form: Definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “the ground”; Notes: The scene of judgment.
- נְאֻם (ne’um) – Root: נאם (na’am); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “utterance / declaration”; Notes: Standard prophetic affirmation formula.
- יְהוָה (YHWH) – Root: יהוה (YHWH); Form: Proper divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Marks divine authority behind the oracle.