וְהָיָ֡ה אִם־לָמֹ֣ד יִלְמְדוּ֩ אֶת־דַּֽרְכֵ֨י עַמִּ֜י לְהִשָּׁבֵ֤עַ בִּשְׁמִי֙ חַי־יְהוָ֔ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר לִמְּדוּ֙ אֶת־עַמִּ֔י לְהִשָּׁבֵ֖עַ בַּבָּ֑עַל וְנִבְנ֖וּ בְּתֹ֥וךְ עַמִּֽי׃
And it shall be, if they will indeed learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, “As YHWH lives,” just as they taught My people to swear by the Baʿal, then they shall be built up in the midst of My people.
Morphology
- וְהָיָה (ve-hayah) – Root: היה; Form: Qal perfect or wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And it shall be”; Notes: Conditional marker introducing a future result.
- אִם (im) – Root: אם; Form: Conditional particle; Translation: “if”; Notes: Begins the protasis of the conditional sentence.
- לָמֹד (lamod) – Root: למד; Form: Qal infinitive construct; Translation: “to learn”; Notes: Purpose or condition clause.
- יִלְמְדוּ (yilmedu) – Root: למד; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they will learn”; Notes: Future action tied to the condition.
- אֶת־דַּרְכֵי (et-darkei) – Root: דרך; Form: Direct object marker + noun masculine plural construct + 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “the ways of My”; Notes: Refers to YHWH’s prescribed way of life.
- עַמִּי (ʿammi) – Root: עם; Form: Noun masculine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “My people”; Notes: Yisraʾel as YHWH’s covenant nation.
- לְהִשָּׁבֵעַ (le-his-shaveaʿ) – Root: שׁבע; Form: Niphal infinitive construct; Translation: “to swear”; Notes: Reflexive/passive form of taking an oath.
- בִּשְׁמִי (bishmi) – Root: שם; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “by My name”; Notes: Refers to invoking YHWH’s name in oath formula.
- חַי־יְהוָה (ḥai-YHWH) – Root: חיה; Form: Adjective/noun construct + divine name; Translation: “As YHWH lives”; Notes: Standard Hebrew oath formula.
- כַּאֲשֶׁר (kaʾasher) – Root: אשר; Form: Comparative conjunction; Translation: “just as”; Notes: Introduces a parallel comparison.
- לִמְּדוּ (limmedu) – Root: למד; Form: Piel perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they taught”; Notes: Intensive stem, emphasizes false instruction.
- אֶת־עַמִּי (et-ʿammi) – Root: עם; Form: Direct object marker + noun with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “My people”; Notes: Direct object of their false teaching.
- לְהִשָּׁבֵעַ (le-his-shaveaʿ) – Root: שׁבע; Form: Niphal infinitive construct; Translation: “to swear”; Notes: Repeats the key concept of oath-taking, now wrongly directed.
- בַּבָּעַל (ba-baʿal) – Root: בעל; Form: Preposition + definite proper noun; Translation: “by the Baʿal”; Notes: Reference to idolatrous Canaanite deity.
- וְנִבְנוּ (ve-nivnu) – Root: בנה; Form: Niphal perfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “then they shall be built up”; Notes: Passive form—promise of restoration and inclusion.
- בְּתֹוךְ (be-tokh) – Root: תוך; Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “in the midst of”; Notes: Denotes full integration or acceptance.
- עַמִּי (ʿammi) – Root: עם; Form: Noun masculine singular with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “My people”; Notes: Ends with hope—repentant nations can be incorporated into YHWH’s people.