וְלֹ֖א שָׁמֵ֑עוּ כִּ֛י אִֽם־כְּמִשְׁפָּטָ֥ם הָֽרִאשֹׁ֖ון הֵ֥ם עֹשִֽׂים׃
But they did not listen, rather according to their former practice they are doing.
Morphology
- וְלֹא (ve-lo) – Root: לא; Form: Conjunction + negative particle; Translation: “but not”; Notes: Introduces contrast and negation.
- שָׁמֵעוּ (shameʿu) – Root: שׁמע; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they listened”; Notes: Indicates completed refusal to heed.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for” / “but”; Notes: Introduces explanation, in this case concessive or contrastive.
- אִם (ʾim) – Root: אם; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “rather”; Notes: Emphasizes contrast—“but rather.”
- כְּמִשְׁפָּטָם (ke-mishpaṭam) – Root: שׁפט; Form: Preposition כְּ + noun masculine singular with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “according to their judgment” / “custom”; Notes: Refers to habitual practices or traditional behavior.
- הָרִאשׁוֹן (ha-rishon) – Root: ראשׁ; Form: Definite adjective masculine singular; Translation: “the former”; Notes: Specifies their earlier pattern of behavior.
- הֵם (hem) – Root: הם; Form: Independent pronoun 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they”; Notes: Serves as subject for the verb “are doing.”
- עֹשִׂים (ʿosim) – Root: עשׂה; Form: Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “doing”; Notes: Describes ongoing or repeated action.