וַיְמָרְר֨וּ אֶת־חַיֵּיהֶ֜ם בַּעֲבֹדָ֣ה קָשָׁ֗ה בְּחֹ֨מֶר֙ וּבִלְבֵנִ֔ים וּבְכָל־עֲבֹדָ֖ה בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה אֵ֚ת כָּל־עֲבֹ֣דָתָ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־עָבְד֥וּ בָהֶ֖ם בְּפָֽרֶךְ׃
And they made their lives bitter with hard labor, with mortar and with bricks and with every kind of labor in the field; all their labor which they made them perform was with harshness.
Morphology
- וַיְמָרְר֨וּ (vaymareru) – Root: מרר (m-r-r); Form: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, 3mp with vav consecutive; Translation: “And they made bitter”; Notes: Describes the intensification of hardship.
- אֶת־ (ʾet) – Root: N/A; Form: Direct object marker; Translation: Untranslatable in English; Notes: Marks “their lives” as the object.
- חַיֵּיהֶ֜ם (ḥayyehem) – Root: חיה (ḥ-y-h); Form: Noun, mp with 3mp suffix; Translation: “Their lives”; Notes: Refers to the Israelites’ lives.
- בַּעֲבֹדָ֣ה (baʿavodah) – Root: עבד (ʿ-v-d); Form: Noun, fs with preposition; Translation: “With labor”; Notes: Indicates oppressive work.
- קָשָׁ֗ה (qashah) – Root: קשה (q-sh-h); Form: Adjective, fs; Translation: “Hard”; Notes: Qualifies the labor as severe or difficult.
- בְּחֹ֨מֶר֙ (beḥomer) – Root: חמר (ḥ-m-r); Form: Noun, ms with preposition; Translation: “With mortar”; Notes: Refers to construction material.
- וּבִלְבֵנִ֔ים (ubilvenim) – Root: לבנה (l-v-n-h); Form: Noun, mp with preposition; Translation: “And with bricks”; Notes: Indicates the use of bricks in their labor.
- וּבְכָל־ (uvkhol-) – Root: כל (k-l); Form: Preposition + noun, ms; Translation: “And with every”; Notes: Introduces the comprehensive scope of their labor.
- עֲבֹדָ֖ה (ʿavodah) – Root: עבד (ʿ-v-d); Form: Noun, fs; Translation: “Labor”; Notes: Refers to work or service.
- בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה (basadeh) – Root: שדה (s-d-h); Form: Noun, ms with preposition; Translation: “In the field”; Notes: Specifies the location of their labor.
- אֵ֚ת (ʾet) – Root: N/A; Form: Direct object marker; Translation: Untranslatable in English; Notes: Marks “all their labor” as the object.
- כָּל־עֲבֹ֣דָתָ֔ם (kol-ʿavodatam) – Root: עבד (ʿ-v-d); Form: Noun, construct, fs with 3mp suffix; Translation: “All their labor”; Notes: Describes the totality of their work.
- אֲשֶׁר־ (asher-) – Root: N/A; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “Which”; Notes: Introduces the clause about their labor.
- עָבְד֥וּ (ʿavdu) – Root: עבד (ʿ-v-d); Form: Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3mp; Translation: “They made them perform”; Notes: Describes the Egyptians forcing labor.
- בָהֶ֖ם (vahem) – Root: בה (b-h); Form: Preposition with 3mp suffix; Translation: “Upon them”; Notes: Refers to the Israelites.
- בְּפָֽרֶךְ (befarekh) – Root: פרך (p-r-k); Form: Preposition + noun, ms; Translation: “With harshness”; Notes: Indicates severe oppression.