אִ֤ישׁ מֵרֵעֵ֨הוּ֙ הִשָּׁמֵ֔רוּ וְעַל־כָּל־אָ֖ח אַל־תִּבְטָ֑חוּ כִּ֤י כָל־אָח֙ עָקֹ֣וב יַעְקֹ֔ב וְכָל־רֵ֖עַ רָכִ֥יל יַהֲלֹֽךְ׃
Each man beware of his neighbor, and in every brother do not trust; for every brother will surely deceive, and every neighbor walks as a slanderer.
Morphology
- אִישׁ (ʾish) – Root: אישׁ; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “man”; Notes: Used generally to denote an individual person.
- מֵרֵעֵהוּ (me-reʿehu) – Root: רעע; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “from his neighbor”; Notes: Indicates association and possession.
- הִשָּׁמֵרוּ (hishameru) – Root: שׁמר; Form: Niphal imperative 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “beware”; Notes: Reflexive/passive form, meaning “guard yourselves.”
- וְעַל־כָּל־אָח (ve-ʿal-kol-aḥ) – Root: על, כל, אח; Form: Conjunction + preposition + noun construct + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and of every brother”; Notes: Introduces the second clause with parallel warning.
- אַל (ʾal) – Root: אל; Form: Negative particle (used for prohibitions); Translation: “do not”; Notes: Common in negative commands.
- תִּבְטָחוּ (tivtaḥu) – Root: בטח; Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “trust”; Notes: Negated by אַל to indicate prohibition.
- כִּי (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for”; Notes: Introduces causal explanation.
- כָּל־אָח (kol-aḥ) – Root: כל, אח; Form: Construct phrase; Translation: “every brother”; Notes: Repetition from earlier clause for emphasis.
- עָקֹב (ʿaqov) – Root: עקב; Form: Adjective or verb participle masculine singular; Translation: “deceitful”; Notes: Can function adjectivally here; same root as “Yaʿaqov.”
- יַעְקֹב (yaʿqov) – Root: עקב; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “will deceive”; Notes: Wordplay on the name “Yaʿaqov” (Jacob) and the root for deception.
- וְכָל־רֵעַ (ve-kol-reaʿ) – Root: כל, רע; Form: Conjunction + construct phrase; Translation: “and every neighbor”; Notes: Parallelism with “brother.”
- רָכִיל (rakhil) – Root: רכל; Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “slanderer”; Notes: Used in contexts of gossip, tale-bearing.
- יַהֲלֹךְ (yahaloḵ) – Root: הלך; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “walks”; Notes: Implies ongoing behavior or habitual action.