וַיֹּ֧אמֶר דָּוִ֛ד אֶל־גָּ֖ד צַר־לִ֣י מְאֹ֑ד נִפְּלָה־נָּ֤א בְיַד־יְהוָה֙ כִּֽי־רַבִּ֣ים רַחֲמָ֔יו וּבְיַד־אָדָ֖ם אַל־אֶפֹּֽלָה׃
And Dawid said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of YHWH, for His mercies are many; but into the hand of man let me not fall.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyomer) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd masculine singular; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech within narrative sequence.
- דָּוִד (Dawid) – Root: —; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Dawid”; Notes: Subject of the verb.
- אֶל־גָּד (el-Gad) – Root: —; Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “to Gad”; Notes: Indicates the addressee.
- צַר־לִי (tzar-li) – Root: צרר; Form: Adjective masculine singular + 1cs suffix; Translation: “I am distressed”; Notes: Literally, “distress is to me.”
- מְאֹד (me’od) – Root: מאד; Form: Adverb; Translation: “greatly”; Notes: Intensifies the emotion expressed by the adjective.
- נִפְּלָה־נָּא (nippelah-na) – Root: נפל; Form: Nifal cohortative 1st person plural with enclitic particle; Translation: “let us fall”; Notes: Volitional form expressing a desire or plea.
- בְיַד־יְהוָה (beyad-YHWH) – Root: יד; Form: Preposition + noun in construct + proper name; Translation: “into the hand of YHWH”; Notes: Expression of submission to divine mercy.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for”; Notes: Introduces the reason for the preceding plea.
- רַבִּים (rabbim) – Root: רבב; Form: Adjective masculine plural; Translation: “many”; Notes: Modifies the implied noun “mercies.”
- רַחֲמָיו (raḥamayv) – Root: רחם; Form: Noun masculine plural + 3ms suffix; Translation: “His mercies”; Notes: Emphasizes divine compassion.
- וּבְיַד־אָדָם (uveyad-adam) – Root: יד / אדם; Form: Conjunction + preposition + noun construct; Translation: “and into the hand of man”; Notes: Contrasted with divine agency.
- אַל (al) – Root: אל; Form: Negative particle (volitive); Translation: “let not”; Notes: Used with imperfect to express a prohibition or plea.
- אֶפֹּלָה (eppolah) – Root: נפל; Form: Qal imperfect cohortative 1cs; Translation: “I fall”; Notes: Expresses Dawid’s desire to avoid falling into human hands.