וְסִכְסַכְתִּ֤י מִצְרַ֨יִם֙ בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם וְנִלְחֲמ֥וּ אִישׁ־בְּאָחִ֖יו וְאִ֣ישׁ בְּרֵעֵ֑הוּ עִ֣יר בְּעִ֔יר מַמְלָכָ֖ה בְּמַמְלָכָֽה׃
And I will stir up Mitsrayim against Mitsrayim, and they shall fight, each man against his brother and each man against his companion, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
Morphology
- וְסִכְסַכְתִּי (ve-sikhsaḵti) – Root: סכך; Form: Piel perfect 1st person singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “and I will stir up”; Notes: Conveys incitement to internal strife; intensive causative action.
- מִצְרַיִם (Mitsrayim) – Root: Proper noun; Form: Place name; Translation: “Mitsrayim”; Notes: Refers to Egypt; repeated for internal division emphasis.
- בְּמִצְרַיִם (be-Mitsrayim) – Root: Proper noun with preposition; Form: Preposition + place name; Translation: “against Mitsrayim”; Notes: Shows civil conflict.
- וְנִלְחֲמוּ (ve-nilḥamu) – Root: לחם; Form: Nifal perfect 3rd person plural with vav-consecutive; Translation: “and they shall fight”; Notes: Reflexive/passive stem, indicating internal warfare.
- אִישׁ (ʾish) – Root: אנש; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a man”; Notes: Begins a series of paired conflicts.
- בְּאָחִיו (be-aḥiv) – Root: אח; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular with 3rd person suffix; Translation: “against his brother”; Notes: Family strife.
- וְאִישׁ (ve-ʾish) – Root: אנש; Form: Conjunction + noun; Translation: “and a man”; Notes: Repetition emphasizes the total breakdown of unity.
- בְּרֵעֵהוּ (be-reʿehu) – Root: רעע; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular with suffix; Translation: “against his companion”; Notes: Friend or associate in conflict.
- עִיר (ʿir) – Root: עיר; Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “city”; Notes: Now moving from individual to geographic conflict.
- בְּעִיר (be-ʿir) – Root: עיר; Form: Preposition + noun; Translation: “against city”; Notes: Civil war imagery.
- מַמְלָכָה (mamlakhah) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “kingdom”; Notes: Refers to political units or regions.
- בְּמַמְלָכָה (be-mamlakhah) – Root: מלך; Form: Preposition + noun; Translation: “against kingdom”; Notes: Indicates total societal collapse into factions.