---
title: Jeremiah 6:20 (JPS 1917) — To what purpose is to Me the frankincense that cometh from Sheba, an… · tree and pragmatics
description: To what purpose is to Me the frankincense that cometh from Sheba, and the sweet cane, from a far country? Who acts: frankincense. Jeremiah 6:20 in JPS 1917 with its dependency tree and the pragmatics of every clause.
---

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# Jeremiah 6:20 · JPS 1917, sentence 1 of 2

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To what purpose is to Me the frankincense that cometh from Sheba, and the sweet cane, from a far country?

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**Who acts:** frankincense · **What happens:** be, come · **To what, where:** frankincense, Me, Sheba

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This is Jeremiah 6:20 · JPS 1917, sentence 1 of 2 in the English of the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 translation, from Mova's open Bible corpus. The page gives the sentence's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, parsed by Mova and checked by a teacher model — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (frankincense), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it. The original of the verse links back to its own tree and to the Targum.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = jps:JER:190
# text = To what purpose is to Me the frankincense that cometh from Sheba, and the sweet cane, from a far country?
1	To	to	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	what	what	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	3	det	_	_
3	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	Me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	obl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	frankincense	frankincense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
10	cometh	come	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Style=Arch|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
11	from	from	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	Sheba	Sheba	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
16	sweet	sweet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	cane	cane	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
19	from	from	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
20	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
21	far	far	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	22	amod	_	_
22	country	country	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nmod	_	_
23	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- sa -->
- form: wh-question
- act: express
- voice: character
- polarity: none
- teacher: changed act=express

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | the frankincense and the sweet cane from a far country | Me |  |  | to what purpose | tree rules |
| 2 | **come** | present | the frankincense and the sweet cane from a far country |  |  | Sheba |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from sheba=Initial\_Location |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The Hebrew of this verse {#hebrew}

<!-- .vhe dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
לָמָּה־זֶּ֨ה לִ֤י לְבוֹנָה֙ מִשְּׁבָ֣א תָב֔וֹא וְקָנֶ֥ה הַטּ֖וֹב מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מֶרְחָ֑ק עֹלֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ לֹ֣א לְרָצ֔וֹן וְזִבְחֵיכֶ֖ם לֹא־עָ֥רְבוּ לִֽי׃ס

[Jeremiah 6:20: the Hebrew tree, its pragmatics and Targum Jonathan →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/JER.6.20/)

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This verse in JPS 1917:

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1. **To what purpose is to Me the frankincense that cometh from Sheba, and the sweet cane, from a far country?**
2. [Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto Me.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/JER.191/)

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**Source.** The Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic Text, Jewish Publication Society, 1917, from eBible.org: public domain. Sentence `jps:JER:190` of Mova's parse database.

**The tree and the speech act** come from Mova's cycle: the small model's draft, read by a large model as teacher, passed by Mova's gates (Elamur Cosmic License). **The frames** are read from the tree by Mova's frames reader (`prag`) when this page is built, the chapter read in order, so a pronoun may be resolved from an earlier sentence of the chapter.

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