לִפְנֵ֥י

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 לִפְנֵ֥י

   lif-NE

   before
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 לִפְנֵ֥י קָמָֽה׃

   lif-NE ka-MA

   before standing grain or stalk
3. clause🔊 הָי֞וּ עֵ֤שֶׂב שָׂדֶה֙ וִ֣ירַק דֶּ֔שֶׁא חֲצִ֣יר גַּגּ֔וֹת וּשְׁדֵפָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֥י קָמָֽה׃

   ha-YU E-sev sa-DE vi-RAK DE-she kha-tsir ga-GOT u-she-de-FA lif-NE ka-MA

   they became or they were grass or plant of a field and green growth or and green thing tender grass or fresh grass grass or hay rooftops and scorching or and blight before standing grain or stalk
4. sentence🔊 וְיֹֽשְׁבֵיהֶן֙ קִצְרֵי־יָ֔ד חַ֖תּוּ וַיֵּבֹ֑שׁוּ הָי֞וּ עֵ֤שֶׂב שָׂדֶה֙ וִ֣ירַק דֶּ֔שֶׁא חֲצִ֣יר גַּגּ֔וֹת וּשְׁדֵפָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֥י קָמָֽה׃

   ve-yo-she-VE-hem kits-re-YAD kha-TU va-ye-VO-shu ha-YU E-sev sa-DE vi-RAK DE-she kha-tsir ga-GOT u-she-de-FA lif-NE ka-MA

   and their inhabitants short of hand or short-handed were shattered or were dismayed and they were put to shame they became or they were grass or plant of a field and green growth or and green thing tender grass or fresh grass grass or hay rooftops and scorching or and blight before standing grain or stalk

Exegesis

The prepositional phrase lifnei kamah {לִפְנֵי קָמָה | li-p̄nê qā-mā} ‘before it grows up’ conveys premature destruction. The Hebrew asyndeton intensifies the swift transition from emotional to natural imagery, and English employs semicolons to mirror the paratactic listing and preserve its cumulative impact.