הֹוגַעְתֶּ֤ם יְהוָה֙ בְּדִבְרֵיכֶ֔ם וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֖ם בַּמָּ֣ה הֹוגָ֑עְנוּ בֶּאֱמָרְכֶ֗ם כָּל־עֹ֨שֵׂה רָ֜ע טֹ֣וב בְּעֵינֵ֣י יְהוָ֗ה וּבָהֶם֙ ה֣וּא חָפֵ֔ץ אֹ֥ו אַיֵּ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י הַמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃
Opening the Complaint
Malachi 2:17 begins not with a declaration, but with a divine sigh. “You have wearied the LORD with your words.” Yet what follows is not silence — it’s dispute, denial, and deflection. The people question the accusation: בַּמָּ֣ה הֹוגָ֑עְנוּ — “How have we wearied Him?” This verse unfolds as an argument, its syntax shaped by irony and indirection. Beneath it all is a powerful feature of Biblical Hebrew rhetoric: the structure of disputational dialogue, a format saturated with verbs of speech, indirect quotation, and embedded accusation. Grammar becomes litigation. The prophet indicts, the people protest — and syntax exposes their hearts.
The Hidden Grammar
This verse hinges on a powerful technique known as the prophetic disputation form, marked by sequential speech verbs and embedded accusations. Let us observe the verbal markers and syntactic staging:
- הֹוגַעְתֶּם יְהוָה — “You have wearied the LORD” (piel perfect passive)
- וַאֲמַרְתֶּם — “But you said…” (wayyiqtol, second person)
- בַּמָּ֣ה הֹוגָ֑עְנוּ — “How have we wearied [Him]?” (niphal perfect, first person)
- בֶּאֱמָרְכֶם — “By saying…” (infinitive construct with 2mp suffix)
This flow creates a chain: accusation → denial → exposure through quotation. The clause בֶּאֱמָרְכֶם introduces a quoted speech within a quote, a layered syntax technique where the people’s own words become the evidence against them. The phrase כָּל־עֹשֵׂה רָע טֹוב בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה (“Everyone who does evil is good in the eyes of the LORD”) reveals not just a complaint, but the inversion of moral theology — syntax used to mimic blasphemous logic.
Echoes Across the Tanakh
Malachi 1:2 — וַאֲמַרְתֶּם בַּמָּה אֲהַבְתָּנוּ — “Yet you say, ‘How have You loved us?’” This is an earlier example of the same form: prophetic assertion followed by defensive denial using בַּמָּה.
Isaiah 40:27 — לָמָה תֹאמַר יַעֲקֹב וְתַדַּבֵּר יִשְׂרָאֵל נִסְתְּרָה דַרְכִּי מֵיְהוָה — “Why do you say, O Yaʿaqov…?” Here again, God confronts the people with their own speech, embedded and rebuked within divine commentary.
Malachi 3:13–14 — חָזְקוּ עָלַי דִבְרֵיכֶם… וַאֲמַרְתֶּם מַה נִּדְבַּרְנוּ עָלֶיךָ — A structurally parallel disputation, confirming this rhetorical pattern as a hallmark of Malachi’s style.
Syntax in Motion
The entire verse revolves around quotation layering and direct speech. Here’s a simplified syntactic map:
[b>הֹוגַעְתֶּם יְהוָה] — direct accusation
|
→ [b>וַאֲמַרְתֶּם] — rebuttal introduction
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→ [b>בַּמָּה הֹוגָעְנוּ] — denial as question
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→ [b>בֶּאֱמָרְכֶם...] — quotation of their error
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→ [b>כָּל־עֹשֵׂה רָע טֹוב בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה] — content of the disputed words
Note the function of אֹו toward the end: אֹו אַיֵּה אֱלֹהֵי הַמִּשְׁפָּט — “Or, where is the God of justice?” The use of אֹו rather than וְ distinguishes the two accusations as alternative heresies. The first challenges divine morality; the second, divine presence. The grammar reveals two possible charges — and neither is innocent.
When Words Create Worlds
This verse exposes how language can itself be sin. The people do not rebel with violence or idols — they rebel with rhetoric. Their words are twisted theology: calling evil good, and questioning divine justice. And Hebrew syntax records the indictment with precision. The prophet doesn’t need to explain why they are wrong. He merely quotes them — because their grammar is the crime.
The form is deeply intimate. God listens to speech patterns, responds to phrasing, and holds the people accountable not just for actions, but for claims. In this sense, Malachi’s Hebrew is courtroom language. The sentence is not just in the words — it is in the sentence structure itself.
| Hebrew Feature | Description | Example from Tanakh |
|---|---|---|
| Disputational Syntax | Prophetic form involving divine accusation, human denial, and embedded quotation | Malachi 2:17 — וַאֲמַרְתֶּם בַּמָּה הֹוגָעְנוּ |
| Infinitive Construct with בְּ | Expressing cause or manner (e.g., “by saying”) | בֶּאֱמָרְכֶם (Malachi 2:17) |
| Rhetorical Disjunction | Use of אֹו to offer morally incompatible alternatives | אֹו אַיֵּה אֱלֹהֵי הַמִּשְׁפָּט (Malachi 2:17) |
When Grammar Grieves
Malachi 2:17 teaches us that language carries weight — not only in what it says, but in how it says it. The grammar of this verse is the grave in which justice is buried. Yet it also becomes the evidence God uses to awaken His people. When theology is twisted, Hebrew untwists it. When judgment comes, it comes first to the syntax of our excuses. This is divine heartbreak expressed in grammar.
