וּלְעֵ֥ת

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 וּלְעֵ֥ת

   u-le-ET

   and for a time of
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 וּלְעֵ֥ת מַרְפֵּ֖א

   u-le-ET mar-PE

   and for a time of healing
3. clause🔊 קַוֵּ֤ה לְשָׁלוֹם֙ וְאֵ֣ין ט֔וֹב וּלְעֵ֥ת מַרְפֵּ֖א וְהִנֵּ֥ה בְעָתָֽה׃

   ka-VE le-sha-LOM ve-EN TOV u-le-ET mar-PE ve-hin-NE be-a-TA

   we waited for peace and there is not good and for a time of healing but behold terror
4. sentence🔊 הֲמָאֹ֨ מָאַ֜סְתָּ אֶת־יְהוּדָ֗ה אִם־בְּצִיּוֹן֙ גָּעֲלָ֣ה נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ מַדּ֙וּעַ֙ הִכִּיתָ֔נוּ וְאֵ֥ין לָ֖נוּ מַרְפֵּ֑א קַוֵּ֤ה לְשָׁלוֹם֙ וְאֵ֣ין ט֔וֹב וּלְעֵ֥ת מַרְפֵּ֖א וְהִנֵּ֥ה בְעָתָֽה׃

   ha-MA-os MA-as-TA ET-ye-hu-DA im-be-tsi-YON ga-a-LA NAF-she-KHA ma-DU-a hi-KI-ta-NU ve-EN la-NU mar-PE ka-VE le-sha-LOM ve-EN TOV u-le-ET mar-PE ve-hin-NE be-a-TA

   have you utterly rejected you have rejected Judah {direct object marker} or Zion has loathed your soul why have you struck us and there is not for us healing we waited for peace and there is not good and for a time of healing but behold terror

Exegesis

The coordinate u-le-et marpe {וּלְעֵת מַרְפֵּא | ūlʿēt mārpē} ‘and for a time of healing’ leads to the climactic vehinne be-atah {וְהִנֵּה בְעָתָה | wəhinēh bəʿātāh} ‘and behold, in terror’. The parallel rhetorical structure and repetition underscore the speaker’s despair, while the shift from anticipated restoration to terror produces dramatic reversal.