אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־יִסָּפֵר֙ צְבָ֣א הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְלֹ֥א יִמַּ֖ד חֹ֣ול הַיָּ֑ם כֵּ֣ן אַרְבֶּ֗ה אֶת־זֶ֨רַע֙ דָּוִ֣ד עַבְדִּ֔י וְאֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֖ם מְשָׁרְתֵ֥י אֹתִֽי׃ ס
Just as the host of the heavens cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of Dawid My servant and the Leviyim who minister to Me.’”
Morphology
- אֲשֶׁ֤ר (ʾasher) – Root: אשר; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “that” or “which”; Notes: Introduces the comparison clause.
- לֹֽא־יִסָּפֵר֙ (lo-yissafēr) – Root: ספר; Form: Nifal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “cannot be counted”; Notes: Passive-reflexive; refers to being uncountable.
- צְבָ֣א הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם (tzeva ha-shamayim) – Root: צבא; Form: Construct noun masculine singular + noun masculine plural with article; Translation: “the host of the heavens”; Notes: Refers to the stars or heavenly bodies.
- וְלֹ֥א יִמַּ֖ד (ve-lo yimmad) – Root: מדד; Form: Nifal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “cannot be measured”; Notes: Passive; used here of unmeasurable quantity.
- חֹ֣ול הַיָּ֑ם (chol ha-yam) – Root: חול; Form: Noun masculine singular + noun masculine singular with article; Translation: “the sand of the sea”; Notes: A hyperbolic metaphor for vastness.
- כֵּ֣ן (ken) – Root: כן; Form: Adverb; Translation: “so”; Notes: Introduces the result or comparison.
- אַרְבֶּ֗ה (arbeh) – Root: רבה; Form: Hifil imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I will multiply”; Notes: Causative stem; emphasizes divine action.
- אֶת־זֶ֨רַע֙ (et-zerʿa) – Root: זרע; Form: Definite direct object marker + noun masculine singular construct; Translation: “the offspring”; Notes: Refers to descendants, lineage.
- דָּוִ֣ד עַבְדִּ֔י (Dawid ʿavdi) – Root: Proper noun + עבד; Form: Proper noun + noun with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “Dawid My servant”; Notes: Object of multiplication promise.
- וְאֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֖ם (ve-et ha-Leviyim) – Root: לוי; Form: Conjunction + definite direct object marker + masculine plural noun; Translation: “and the Levites”; Notes: Shared in the blessing with Dawid’s descendants.
- מְשָׁרְתֵ֥י (meshartē) – Root: שרת; Form: Piel participle masculine plural construct; Translation: “ministers of”; Notes: Construct form links to final word.
- אֹתִֽי (oti) – Root: את; Form: 1st person singular object pronoun; Translation: “Me”; Notes: YHWH is the one served.