וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלִישָׁ֗ע חַי־יְהוָ֤ה צְבָאֹות֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָמַ֣דְתִּי לְפָנָ֔יו כִּ֗י לוּלֵ֛י פְּנֵ֛י יְהֹושָׁפָ֥ט מֶֽלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֖ה אֲנִ֣י נֹשֵׂ֑א אִם־אַבִּ֥יט אֵלֶ֖יךָ וְאִם־אֶרְאֶֽךָּ׃
And Elishaʿ said, “As YHWH of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Yehoshafat king of Yehuda, I would not look toward you, nor would I see you.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (va-yomer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces Elishaʿ’s solemn declaration.
- אֱלִישָׁ֗ע (Elishaʿ) – Root: אלישע; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Elishaʿ”; Notes: The prophet speaking.
- חַי־יְהוָ֤ה (ḥai-YHWH) – Root: חי + יהוה; Form: Adjective + divine name; Translation: “As YHWH lives”; Notes: A solemn oath formula.
- צְבָאֹות֙ (tsevaʾot) – Root: צבא; Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “of hosts”; Notes: Refers to heavenly armies, an epithet of YHWH.
- אֲשֶׁ֣ר (asher) – Root: אשר; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause describing YHWH.
- עָמַ֣דְתִּי (ʿamadti) – Root: עמד (ʿamad); Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I stood”; Notes: Indicates faithful service before YHWH.
- לְפָנָ֔יו (lefanav) – Root: פנה; Form: Preposition + noun masculine plural (dual) with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “before him”; Notes: Denotes ministering in YHWH’s presence.
- כִּ֗י (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “surely”; Notes: Emphatic introduction of the following conditional statement.
- לוּלֵ֛י (lule) – Root: לולא; Form: Particle of condition; Translation: “were it not”; Notes: Introduces a contrary-to-fact conditional clause.
- פְּנֵ֛י (penei) – Root: פנים; Form: Noun masculine plural construct; Translation: “the presence of”; Notes: Denotes favor or consideration of a person.
- יְהֹושָׁפָ֥ט (Yehoshafat) – Root: יהושפט; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Yehoshafat”; Notes: King of Yehudah.
- מֶֽלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֖ה (melekh-Yehudah) – Root: מלך + יהודה; Form: Construct noun + proper noun; Translation: “king of Yehudah”; Notes: Further identifies Yehoshafat.
- אֲנִ֣י נֹשֵׂ֑א (ani nose) – Root: נשא (nasaʾ); Form: Pronoun + Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “I regard”; Notes: Indicates showing honor or consideration.
- אִם־אַבִּ֥יט (im-abbit) – Root: נבט (nabat); Form: Conditional particle + Hifil imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I would not look”; Notes: Conditional negative response directed to the king of Yisraʾel.
- אֵלֶ֖יךָ (elekha) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “toward you”; Notes: Directed at Yehoram.
- וְאִם־אֶרְאֶֽךָּ (ve-im-erʾekha) – Root: ראה (raʾah); Form: Conjunction + conditional particle + Qal imperfect 1st person singular + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “nor would I see you”; Notes: Parallel construction reinforcing Elishaʿ’s disdain.