Skip to content

Grammar Analysis: Psalm 75:8 (MT 75:9)

Versification note: English Psalm 75:8 = Hebrew (MT) Psalm 75:9. The Hebrew parser uses MT numbering. This entry refers to the English reference "Psalm 75:8" throughout, which is the same verse as Hebrew 75:9.

Text

Hebrew (MT 75:9): כִּ֤י כֹ֪וס בְּֽיַד־יְהוָ֡ה וְיַ֤יִן חָמַ֨ר ׀ מָ֥לֵא מֶסֶךְ֮ וַיַּגֵּ֢ר מִ֫זֶּ֥ה אַךְ־שְׁ֭מָרֶיהָ יִמְצ֣וּ יִשְׁתּ֑וּ כֹּ֝֗ל רִשְׁעֵי־אָֽרֶץ׃

KJV (Psalm 75:8): "For in the hand of the LORD [there is] a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring [them] out, [and] drink [them]."

Word-by-Word Parsing

# Hebrew Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 כִּ֤י כי Conj. for / that
2 כֹ֪וס כוס Noun.fs.Abs cup
3 בְּֽ ב Prep in
4 יַד יד Noun.s.Cst hand (of)
5 יְהוָ֡ה יהוה PropN.ms.Abs YHWH
6 וְ ו Conj. and
7 יַ֤יִן יין Noun.ms.Abs wine
8 חָמַ֨ר חמר Verb.Qal.Perf.3ms foamed/red
9 מָ֥לֵא מלא Adj.ms.Abs full
10 מֶסֶךְ֮ מסך Noun.ms.Abs mixture
11 וַ ו Conj. (wayyiqtol) and
12 יַּגֵּ֢ר נגר Verb.Hiphil.Wayq.3ms he pours out
13 מִ֫ מן Prep from
14 זֶּ֥ה זה DemPron.ms this
15 אַךְ אך Adv. surely / only
16 שְׁ֭מָרֶיהָ שׁמר Noun.mp.Abs.+3fs its dregs
17 יִמְצ֣וּ מצה Verb.Qal.Impf.3mp they drain
18 יִשְׁתּ֑וּ שׁתה Verb.Qal.Impf.3mp they drink
19 כֹּ֝֗ל כל Noun.ms.Cst all (of)
20 רִשְׁעֵי רשׁע Adj.mp.Cst wicked (of)
21 אָֽרֶץ ארץ Noun.s.Abs earth

Clause Structure

Six clauses (parser output):

  1. NmCl (Nominal clause, discourse Q): כִּ֤י כֹ֪וס בְּֽיַד־יְהוָ֡ה — "For [there is] a cup in YHWH's hand."
  2. [Conj] כִּי — [Subj] כוס — [PreC] בְּיַד־יְהוָה

  3. Verbless nominal clause; the existence/possession of the cup is predicated by the prepositional phrase "in the hand of YHWH."

  4. WXQt (Waw + X + Qatal, circumstantial): וְיַ֤יִן חָמַ֨ר — "and the wine foams/is red."

  5. [Conj] וְ — [Subj] יין — [Pred] חמר (Qal perfect 3ms)

  6. Waw-X-qatal with fronted subject — classic circumstantial/descriptive clause attached to the nominal clause above. See syntax-wx-qatal-circumstantial.md.

  7. NmCl (Nominal clause): מָ֥לֵא מֶסֶךְ֮ — "[it is] full of mixture."

  8. [PreC] מָלֵא מֶסֶךְ

  9. Verbless; the adjective מָלֵא "full" governs an accusative of material מֶסֶךְ "mixture/mixed wine."

  10. Way0 (Wayyiqtol, discourse N = narrative): וַיַּגֵּ֢ר מִ֫זֶּ֥ה — "and he pours from it."

  11. [Conj] וַ — [Pred] יַגֵּר (Hiphil wayyiqtol 3ms) — [Cmpl] מִזֶּה

  12. A single wayyiqtol inside otherwise Q-domain discourse: narrative-style advancement portraying YHWH's act of pouring as the next event in the scene.

  13. xYq0 (X + Yiqtol, object-fronted): אַךְ־שְׁ֭מָרֶיהָ יִמְצ֣וּ — "surely its dregs they shall drain."

  14. [Objc] אַךְ שְׁמָרֶיהָ — [Pred] יִמְצוּ

  15. Object fronted for emphasis; the dregs themselves — and not merely the wine — are what the wicked will drain.

  16. ZYqX (Yiqtol + subject): יִשְׁתּ֑וּ כֹּ֝֗ל רִשְׁעֵי־אָֽרֶץ — "they shall drink — all the wicked of the earth."

  17. [Pred] יִשְׁתּוּ — [Subj] כֹּל רִשְׁעֵי אָרֶץ
  18. The heavy subject phrase is postposed, producing a climactic reveal of who must drink.

Construct Chains

The parser identifies two construct chains:

  1. יַד־יְהוָה — "hand of YHWH"
  2. יַד (cst) → יְהוָה (abs)

  3. Possessive/agency genitive. The cup belongs to YHWH and is wielded by him.

  4. כֹּל רִשְׁעֵי־אָרֶץ — "all the wicked of the earth"

  5. כֹּל (cst) → רִשְׁעֵי (cst) → אָרֶץ (abs)
  6. Three-member chain: quantifier + adjective-used-as-substantive + earth. Universalizes the scope — not just one nation but every wicked person on earth.

See construct-state.md.

Key Grammatical Features

1. כּוֹס בְּיַד־יְהוָה — Verbless nominal clause with possessive prep-phrase

  • Form: Noun (subject) + prep + construct noun + proper noun (predicate). No verb "to be" — existence/possession is asserted by juxtaposition.
  • Significance: The opening clause establishes a tableau, not a narrated event. The cup already exists; it is already in YHWH's hand. The verse opens in a static visionary frame before any action takes place. This is the founding image that later prophetic texts pick up (Jer 25:15; Isa 51:17, 22; Rev 14:10; 16:19) — always the cup is already there, held by God, waiting.
  • Grammar reference: verbless/nominal clauses — no dedicated entry yet in the library; see the general clause treatment.

2. וְיַיִן חָמַר — Waw-X-qatal circumstantial clause

  • Form: Waw-conjunctive + fronted subject יין + Qal perfect 3ms חָמַר. The perfect of חמר ("foam up, ferment, turn red") describes a resultant state rather than a completed past action. Fronting the subject makes the clause circumstantial: it does not advance time but describes the condition of the wine at the scene of the nominal clause.
  • Significance: The wine is already fermented/red. חמר carries connotations both of redness (color) and of foaming/effervescence (strong, undiluted, potent). The perfect portrays this as an achieved state — this is no new-pressed grape juice but aged, active, dangerous wine. The circumstantial syntax ties this description directly to the cup of clause 1: the cup contains this wine.
  • Grammar reference: syntax-wx-qatal-circumstantial.md
  • Word study: H3196-yayin.md

3. מָלֵא מֶסֶךְ — Adjective + accusative of material

  • Form: Verbless clause with predicate adjective מָלֵא ("full") taking מֶסֶךְ ("mixture") as accusative specifying what fills it. מֶסֶךְ denotes wine mixed with spices or other additives — a potent preparation, not wine diluted with water.
  • Significance: The image intensifies: the cup is full, and full of mesek — a compound drink prepared for maximum potency. In Prov 23:30 מֶסֶךְ is the "mixed wine" that inebriates. Combined with חָמַר in the prior clause, the wine is doubly strong: fermented and spiced. The founding cup-of-wrath metaphor here is not a casual drink but a carefully prepared draught.

4. וַיַּגֵּר — Hiphil wayyiqtol 3ms of נגר

  • Form: Waw-consecutive + Hiphil imperfect/preterite 3ms of נגר ("pour, run down"). The Hiphil is causative: "he causes (it) to pour out." Wayyiqtol advances discourse by one step.
  • Significance: This is the one event-verb in the first half of the verse. Three stative/descriptive clauses establish the scene (cup in hand, wine red, full of mixture), then one wayyiqtol breaks in: and he pours. The stem is causative — YHWH is the agent, actively tilting the cup. The wayyiqtol inside a Q (discourse/direct-speech) domain is marked: the poet momentarily slips into narrative voice to report the pouring as it happens.
  • Grammar reference: stem-hiphil.md, hiphil-imperfect.md

5. אַךְ־שְׁמָרֶיהָ יִמְצוּ — Object-fronted yiqtol with emphatic אַךְ

  • Form: Restrictive/asseverative particle אַךְ + object שְׁמָרֶיהָ ("its dregs," fem-plural + 3fs suffix referring back to כּוֹס) + Qal imperfect 3mp יִמְצוּ ("they will drain"). The object is fronted before the verb for emphasis.
  • Significance: The object-fronting + אַךְ stacks two marks of emphasis. The point is not merely that the wicked will drink the wine, but that only the dregs — or even the dregs — will be what they get. The 3fs suffix "her/its" (referring to the feminine noun כּוֹס) binds the dregs back to the cup of clause 1. Grammatically, everything hangs together: one cup, one wine, one pouring, one set of dregs — for all the wicked of the earth.

6. יִשְׁתּוּ כֹּל רִשְׁעֵי־אָרֶץ — Yiqtol + postposed heavy subject

  • Form: Qal imperfect 3mp יִשְׁתּוּ followed by the three-member construct chain כֹּל רִשְׁעֵי־אָרֶץ. The subject is positioned after the verb — marked word order; normal X-Yiqtol would front the subject.
  • Significance: Postposing the subject creates a climactic closure. The verse ends with the identification of who drinks: "all the wicked of the earth." The three-member construct chain universalizes scope — not just one nation's wicked, but the totality of earthly wickedness. This sets the template picked up by later prophets (Jer 25:15–29 names nation after nation) and by Revelation 14:10 where the wicked drink "the wine of the wrath of God."

Cross-References

Grammar library

Word studies

Gaps identified (candidates for future library entries)

  • חָמַר (Qal perfect, stative "ferment/red") — no current entry; would be useful for Deut 32:14, Isa 27:2, Ps 46:4, 75:9.
  • מֶסֶךְ "mixed wine" — noun not yet studied; parallel to the fuller word-family covering mixture/drink preparation.
  • אַךְ as restrictive/asseverative particle — no dedicated entry; governs nuance across Pss, Prov, Job.
  • Object-fronting with yiqtol for emphasis — the xYq0 pattern deserves a standalone grammar reference entry.
  • Verbless/nominal clauses with prep-phrase predicate — basic enough that one canonical entry would serve many passages.

Summary

Psalm 75:8 (MT 75:9) is built from six short clauses in a deliberate grammatical rhythm: three scene-setting descriptive clauses (NmCl, WXQt, NmCl), one narrative-advancing wayyiqtol (Way0), and two future-oriented yiqtol clauses with marked word order (xYq0, ZYqX). The grammatical movement mirrors the theological movement: a static cup in YHWH's hand → its description intensifies (red, full, spiced) → YHWH pours → the wicked drain the dregs → all of them drink. The founding cup-of-wrath image of the Hebrew Bible is grammatically packaged as a visionary tableau that suddenly breaks into action, aimed universally at "all the wicked of the earth."