וְעַתָּ֖ה אִם־תִּשָּׂ֣א חַטָּאתָ֑ם וְאִם־אַ֕יִן מְחֵ֣נִי נָ֔א מִֽסִּפְרְךָ֖ אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּתָֽבְתָּ׃
And now, if You will forgive their sin, but if not, erase me, please, from Your book which You have written.”
Morphology
- וְעַתָּ֖ה (veʿattah) – Root: עתה (ʿ-t-h); Form: Conjunction + Adverb; Translation: “And now”; Notes: Introduces Moshe’s plea to YHWH.
- אִם־ (im) – Root: אם (ʾ-m); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “If”; Notes: Indicates a conditional statement.
- תִּשָּׂ֣א (tissa) – Root: נשא (n-s-ʾ); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 2ms; Translation: “You will forgive”; Notes: Refers to bearing or lifting away their sin.
- חַטָּאתָ֑ם (ḥattatam) – Root: חטא (ḥ-ṭ-ʾ); Form: Noun, feminine singular construct + Pronoun, 3mp suffix; Translation: “Their sin”; Notes: Refers to the people’s wrongdoing.
- וְאִם־ (veʾim) – Root: אם (ʾ-m); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “But if”; Notes: Contrasts with the previous conditional statement.
- אַ֕יִן (ayin) – Root: אין (ʾ-y-n); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “Not”; Notes: Denotes negation of forgiveness.
- מְחֵ֣נִי (meḥeni) – Root: מחא (m-ḥ-ʾ); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperative, 2ms + Pronoun, 1cs suffix; Translation: “Erase me”; Notes: A plea for erasure if forgiveness is denied.
- נָ֔א (na) – Root: נא (n-ʾ); Form: Particle; Translation: “Please”; Notes: Expresses urgency or supplication.
- מִֽסִּפְרְךָ֖ (misifrekha) – Root: ספר (s-p-r); Form: Preposition + Noun, masculine singular construct + Pronoun, 2ms suffix; Translation: “From Your book”; Notes: Refers to a divine record or ledger.
- אֲשֶׁ֥ר (asher) – Root: אשר (ʾ-sh-r); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “Which”; Notes: Introduces a clause describing the book.
- כָּתָֽבְתָּ׃ (katavta) – Root: כתב (k-t-v); Form: Verb, Qal, Perfect, 2ms; Translation: “You have written”; Notes: Refers to YHWH as the author of the book.