וְעַתָּה֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֔י אַתָּה֙ הִמְלַ֣כְתָּ אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֔ תַּ֖חַת דָּוִ֣ד אָבִ֑י וְאָֽנֹכִי֙ נַ֣עַר קָטֹ֔ן לֹ֥א אֵדַ֖ע צֵ֥את וָבֹֽא׃
And now, YHWH my God, You have made Your servant king in place of Dawid my father, and I am a young lad, small; I do not know how to go out or come in.
Morphology
- וְעַתָּה֙ (ve-ʿattah) – Root: עתה; Form: Conjunction with adverb; Translation: “And now”; Notes: Introduces a transition or new appeal in the prayer.
- יְהוָ֣ה (YHWH) – Root: יהוה; Form: Proper noun, divine name; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: Vocative form, addressing God directly.
- אֱלֹהָ֔י (Elohai) – Root: אלה; Form: Noun, masculine plural with 1cs pronominal suffix; Translation: “my God”; Notes: Expresses personal relationship with the deity.
- אַתָּה֙ (attah) – Root: אתה; Form: Independent pronoun, 2ms; Translation: “You”; Notes: Subject pronoun, emphatic.
- הִמְלַ֣כְתָּ (himlakhta) – Root: מלך; Form: Hiphil perfect 2ms; Translation: “You made king”; Notes: Causative stem indicating YHWH’s action in raising the speaker to kingship.
- אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֔ (et-ʿavdekha) – Root: עבד; Form: Definite direct object marker with noun in construct + 2ms suffix; Translation: “Your servant”; Notes: Refers to Shelomoh, object of “You made king.”
- תַּ֖חַת (taḥat) – Root: תחת; Form: Preposition; Translation: “in place of”; Notes: Indicates succession or substitution.
- דָּוִ֣ד (Dawid) – Root: דוד; Form: Proper noun, masculine singular; Translation: “Dawid”; Notes: Refers to the father and predecessor of Shelomoh.
- אָבִ֑י (avi) – Root: אב; Form: Noun, masculine singular construct + 1cs suffix; Translation: “my father”; Notes: Possessive, modifying “Dawid.”
- וְאָֽנֹכִי֙ (ve-anokhi) – Root: אנכ; Form: Independent pronoun, 1cs with conjunction; Translation: “and I”; Notes: Personal and emphatic pronoun.
- נַ֣עַר (naʿar) – Root: נער; Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “a lad”; Notes: Refers to youth, inexperience, or subordination.
- קָטֹ֔ן (qaṭon) – Root: קטן; Form: Adjective, masculine singular; Translation: “small”; Notes: Describes status or humility.
- לֹ֥א (lo) – Root: לא; Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Introduces negation of knowledge or ability.
- אֵדַ֖ע (eidaʿ) – Root: ידע; Form: Qal imperfect 1cs; Translation: “I know”; Notes: Denotes ability or familiarity; negated by לֹא.
- צֵ֥את (tset) – Root: יצא; Form: Infinitive construct; Translation: “going out”; Notes: First in the pair of idiomatic expression meaning general conduct or leadership ability.
- וָבֹֽא (va-vo) – Root: בוא; Form: Infinitive construct with conjunction; Translation: “and coming in”; Notes: Paired with “going out” to express practical leadership or activity.