וְעַתָּה֙ ק֣וּם צֵ֔א וְדַבֵּ֖ר עַל־לֵ֣ב עֲבָדֶ֑יךָ כִּי֩ בַיהוָ֨ה נִשְׁבַּ֜עְתִּי כִּי־אֵינְךָ֣ יֹוצֵ֗א אִם־יָלִ֨ין אִ֤ישׁ אִתְּךָ֙ הַלַּ֔יְלָה וְרָעָ֧ה לְךָ֣ זֹ֗את מִכָּל־הָרָעָה֙ אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֣אָה עָלֶ֔יךָ מִנְּעֻרֶ֖יךָ עַד־עָֽתָּה׃ ס
And now, arise, go out, and speak to the heart of your servants. For I have sworn by YHWH, if you do not go out, not a man will stay with you tonight. And this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.”
Morphology
- וְעַתָּה (ve-ʿattah) – Root: עתה; Form: Conjunction + adverb; Translation: “And now”; Notes: Marks transition to an imperative or exhortation.
- קוּם (qum) – Root: קום; Form: Qal imperative masculine singular; Translation: “Arise”; Notes: Command to take action.
- צֵא (tzeʾ) – Root: יצא; Form: Qal imperative masculine singular; Translation: “go out”; Notes: Parallel command to the king.
- וְדַבֵּר (ve-dabber) – Root: דבר; Form: Piel imperative masculine singular; Translation: “and speak”; Notes: Emphasizes earnest speaking or persuasion.
- עַל־לֵב (ʿal-lev) – Root: לב; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “to the heart of”; Notes: Idiom meaning to encourage or reassure.
- עֲבָדֶיךָ (ʿavadekha) – Root: עבד; Form: Noun masculine plural with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “your servants”; Notes: Object of persuasion.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for”; Notes: Introduces the reason or basis for the exhortation.
- בַיהוָה (ba-YHWH) – Root: יהוה; Form: Preposition + proper divine name; Translation: “by YHWH”; Notes: Swearing formula.
- נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי (nishbaʿti) – Root: שׁבע; Form: Nifal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I have sworn”; Notes: Emphatic vow made by Yoʾav.
- כִּי־אֵינְךָ (ki-einekha) – Root: אין; Form: Conjunction + negative existential + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “if you do not”; Notes: Conditional clause.
- יֹוצֵא (yotzeʾ) – Root: יצא; Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “go out”; Notes: Conditional on king’s action.
- אִם־יָלִין (im-yalin) – Root: לין; Form: Conditional particle + Qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular; Translation: “not a man will lodge”; Notes: Consequence if king stays hidden.
- אִישׁ (ish) – Root: אישׁ; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a man”; Notes: Subject of lodging verb.
- אִתְּךָ (itt’kha) – Root: את; Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “with you”; Notes: King will be abandoned.
- הַלַּיְלָה (ha-laylah) – Root: לילה; Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “this night”; Notes: Indicates urgency.
- וְרָעָה (ve-raʿah) – Root: רעע; Form: Conjunction + noun feminine singular; Translation: “and worse”; Notes: Begins description of consequences.
- לְךָ (lekha) – Root: לך; Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “for you”; Notes: Dative of disadvantage.
- זֹאת (zot) – Root: זה; Form: Demonstrative pronoun feminine singular; Translation: “this”; Notes: Refers to the outcome of the king’s inaction.
- מִכָּל־הָרָעָה (mi-kol ha-raʿah) – Root: רעע; Form: Preposition + noun in construct + definite noun feminine singular; Translation: “than all the evil”; Notes: Comparison with prior suffering.
- אֲשֶׁר־בָּאָה (ʾasher-baʾah) – Root: בוא; Form: Relative pronoun + Qal perfect feminine singular; Translation: “that has come”; Notes: Refers to past afflictions.
- עָלֶיךָ (ʿalekha) – Root: על; Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “upon you”; Notes: Recipient of evil.
- מִנְּעֻרֶיךָ (min-neʿurekha) – Root: נער; Form: Preposition + noun masculine plural with 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “from your youth”; Notes: Indicates lifelong hardship.
- עַד־עָתָּה (ʿad-ʿattah) – Root: עד, עתה; Form: Preposition + adverb; Translation: “until now”; Notes: Concludes time span.