Jeremiah 9:4 (Jeremiah 9:5)

וְאִ֤ישׁ בְּרֵעֵ֨הוּ֙ יְהָתֵ֔לּוּ וֶאֱמֶ֖ת לֹ֣א יְדַבֵּ֑רוּ לִמְּד֧וּ לְשֹׁונָ֛ם דַּבֶּר־שֶׁ֖קֶר הַעֲוֵ֥ה נִלְאֽוּ׃

And each man deceives his neighbor, and truth they do not speak; they have taught their tongue to speak falsehood; they weary themselves with perverting.

Morphology

1. וְאִ֤ישׁ (veʾish) – Root: אישׁ; Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular; Translation: “And a man”; Notes: Introduces an individual subject, continuing from the previous verse.
2. בְּרֵעֵ֨הוּ (be-reʿehu) – Root: רעע; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular construct + 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “against his neighbor”; Notes: Expresses relational context.
3. יְהָתֵ֔לּוּ (yehatellu) – Root: הלל; Form: Piel imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they deceive”; Notes: Piel intensifies the action—“to lead astray” or “deal deceitfully.”
4. וֶאֱמֶ֖ת (veʾemet) – Root: אמת; Form: Conjunction + noun feminine singular; Translation: “and truth”; Notes: Accusative object of the following verb.
5. לֹ֣א (lo) – Root: לא; Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Standard negation.
6. יְדַבֵּ֑רוּ (yedabberu) – Root: דבר; Form: Piel imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they speak”; Notes: Denotes habitual or continuous action.
7. לִמְּד֧וּ (limmedu) – Root: למד; Form: Piel perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they have taught”; Notes: Completed action with object implied in next word.
8. לְשֹׁונָ֛ם (leshonam) – Root: לשׁן; Form: Preposition + noun feminine singular with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “their tongue”; Notes: Object of “taught.”
9. דַּבֶּר־שֶׁ֖קֶר (dabber-sheqer) – Root: דבר, שׁקר; Form: Infinitive construct + noun masculine singular; Translation: “to speak falsehood”; Notes: Compound object of what the tongue was taught.
10. הַעֲוֵ֥ה (haʿaveh) – Root: עוה; Form: Hiphil infinitive construct; Translation: “perverting”; Notes: From the causative binyan, often associated with twisting or corruption.
11. נִלְאֽוּ (nilʾu) – Root: לאה; Form: Niphal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they have grown weary”; Notes: Passive/reflexive aspect of being exhausted or worn out by the action.