וַיְצַ֣ו הַמֶּ֡לֶךְ אֶת־֠יֹואָב וְאֶת־אֲבִישַׁ֤י וְאֶת־אִתַּי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לְאַט־לִ֖י לַנַּ֣עַר לְאַבְשָׁלֹ֑ום וְכָל־הָעָ֣ם שָׁמְע֗וּ בְּצַוֹּ֥ת הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ אֶת־כָּל־הַשָּׂרִ֖ים עַל־דְּבַ֥ר אַבְשָׁלֹֽום׃
And the king commanded Yoʾav and Avishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man, with Avshalom.” And all the people heard when the king commanded all the commanders concerning Avshalom.
Morphology
- וַיְצַ֣ו (vay-tsav) – Root: צוה; Form: Wayyiqtol (vav-consecutive) Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he commanded”; Notes: Narrative verb introducing a past event.
- הַמֶּ֡לֶךְ (ha-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun, masculine singular, definite; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Subject of the verb.
- אֶת־יֹואָב (et-Yoʾav) – Root: יואב; Form: Direct object marker with proper noun; Translation: “Yoʾav”; Notes: First object of the command.
- וְאֶת־אֲבִישַׁי (ve-et-Avishai) – Root: אבישי; Form: Conjunction with direct object marker and proper noun; Translation: “and Avishai”; Notes: Second object in the list.
- וְאֶת־אִתַּי (ve-et-Ittai) – Root: אִתַּי; Form: Conjunction with direct object marker and proper noun; Translation: “and Ittai”; Notes: Third object in the list.
- לֵאמֹ֔ר (leʾmor) – Root: אמר; Form: Infinitive construct; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- לְאַט־ (leʾat) – Root: אט; Form: Preposition with noun; Translation: “gently”; Notes: Adverbial phrase expressing manner.
- לִי (li) – Root: ל־ + אני; Form: Prepositional phrase with 1st person singular pronominal suffix; Translation: “for me”; Notes: Expresses reason or motive—”for my sake”.
- לַנַּ֣עַר (la-naʿar) – Root: נער; Form: Preposition with definite noun, masculine singular; Translation: “with the young man”; Notes: Object of the adverbial directive.
- לְאַבְשָׁלֹ֑ום (le-Avshalom) – Root: אבשלום; Form: Preposition with proper noun; Translation: “with Avshalom”; Notes: Apposition or clarification of “the young man.”
- וְכָל־הָעָ֣ם (ve-khol-ha-ʿam) – Root: כל + עם; Form: Conjunction with noun, masculine singular, definite; Translation: “and all the people”; Notes: Subject of the next clause.
- שָׁמְע֗וּ (shamʿu) – Root: שמע; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person plural; Translation: “heard”; Notes: Indicates completed past action.
- בְּצַוֹּ֥ת (be-tsavvot) – Root: צוה; Form: Preposition with infinitive construct; Translation: “when he commanded”; Notes: Temporal clause marker.
- הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ (ha-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun, masculine singular, definite; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Subject of the infinitive action.
- אֶת־כָּל־הַשָּׂרִ֖ים (et-khol-ha-sarim) – Root: שר; Form: Direct object marker with noun, masculine plural, definite; Translation: “all the commanders”; Notes: Plural object of the king’s command.
- עַל־דְּבַ֥ר (ʿal-devar) – Root: דבר; Form: Preposition with construct noun, masculine singular; Translation: “concerning the matter of”; Notes: Introduces the topic or reason.
- אַבְשָׁלֹֽום (Avshalom) – Root: אבשלום; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Avshalom”; Notes: Son of Dawid; the one the king referred to.