וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הָאִישׁ֙ אֶל־יֹואָ֔ב וְלֽוֹ־אָנֹכִ֜י שֹׁקֵ֤ל עַל־כַּפַּי֙ אֶ֣לֶף כֶּ֔סֶף לֹֽא־אֶשְׁלַ֥ח יָדִ֖י אֶל־בֶּן־הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ כִּ֣י בְאָזְנֵ֜ינוּ צִוָּ֣ה הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ אֹ֠תְךָ וְאֶת־אֲבִישַׁ֤י וְאֶת־אִתַּי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר שִׁמְרוּ־מִ֕י בַּנַּ֖עַר בְּאַבְשָׁלֹֽום׃
And the man said to Yoʾav, “Even if I were to weigh in my hand a thousand pieces of silver, I would not stretch out my hand against the son of the king. For in our hearing the king commanded you and Avishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Watch over the young man—over Avshalom—for me.’
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמֶר (vay-yomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Wayyiqtol Qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- הָאִישׁ (ha-ʾish) – Root: אישׁ; Form: Noun masculine singular definite; Translation: “the man”; Notes: Subject of the clause.
- אֶל־יֹואָב (el-Yoʾav) – Root: יואב; Form: Preposition with proper noun; Translation: “to Yoʾav”; Notes: Indicates the person addressed.
- וְלוֹ (ve-lo) – Root: לו; Form: Conjunction + preposition with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “Even if”; Notes: Introduces a hypothetical condition.
- אָנֹכִי (ʾanokhi) – Root: אנכי; Form: Independent pronoun, 1st person singular; Translation: “I”; Notes: Emphatic personal pronoun.
- שֹׁקֵל (shoqel) – Root: שקל; Form: Qal active participle masculine singular; Translation: “weighing”; Notes: Ongoing or hypothetical action.
- עַל־כַּפַּי (ʿal-kappai) – Root: כף; Form: Preposition + dual noun with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “on my hands”; Notes: Idiom for personal possession or control.
- אֶלֶף (ʾelef) – Root: אלף; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a thousand”; Notes: Cardinal number.
- כֶּסֶף (kesef) – Root: כסף; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “silver”; Notes: Refers to money.
- לֹא־אֶשְׁלַח (lo-ʾeshlaḥ) – Root: שלח; Form: Negative + Qal imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I would not stretch out”; Notes: Expresses refusal or prohibition.
- יָדִי (yadi) – Root: יד; Form: Noun feminine singular + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “my hand”; Notes: Direct object of the verb “stretch out.”
- אֶל־בֶּן־הַמֶּלֶךְ (el-ben-ha-melekh) – Root: בן, מלך; Form: Preposition + construct noun + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “against the son of the king”; Notes: Refers to Avshalom.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for”; Notes: Introduces reason or explanation.
- בְאָזְנֵינוּ (ve-ʾozneinu) – Root: אזן; Form: Preposition + plural noun with 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “in our ears”; Notes: Idiom meaning “we heard ourselves.”
- צִוָּה (tsivvah) – Root: צוה; Form: Piel perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “he commanded”; Notes: Strong form of instruction.
- הַמֶּלֶךְ (ha-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Subject of the verb “commanded.”
- אֹתְךָ (ʾotkha) – Root: את; Form: Direct object pronoun masculine singular; Translation: “you”; Notes: Direct object of the command.
- וְאֶת־אֲבִישַׁי (ve-et-Avishai) – Root: אבישי; Form: Conjunction + direct object marker + proper noun; Translation: “and Avishai”; Notes: Coordinated object.
- וְאֶת־אִתַּי (ve-et-Ittai) – Root: אִתַּי; Form: Conjunction + direct object marker + proper noun; Translation: “and Ittai”; Notes: Coordinated object.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾmor) – Root: אמר; Form: Infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces the king’s direct words.
- שִׁמְרוּ־מִי (shimru-mi) – Root: שמר; Form: Qal imperative masculine plural + preposition + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “guard for me”; Notes: Imperative from the king to protect Avshalom.
- בַּנַּעַר (ba-naʿar) – Root: נער; Form: Preposition + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the young man”; Notes: Refers to Avshalom.
- בְּאַבְשָׁלֹום (be-Avshalom) – Root: אבשלום; Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “concerning Avshalom”; Notes: Clarifies the identity of “the young man.”