וַיִּרְא֞וּ שֹֽׁטְרֵ֧י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל אֹתָ֖ם בְּרָ֣ע לֵאמֹ֑ר לֹא־תִגְרְע֥וּ מִלִּבְנֵיכֶ֖ם דְּבַר־יֹ֥ום בְּיֹומֹֽו׃
And the officers of the children of Yisra’el saw them in trouble, saying, “You shall not reduce the number of your bricks, the quota of each day in its day.”
Morphology
- וַיִּרְא֞וּ (vayyirʾu) – Root: ראה (r-ʾ-h); Form: Qal imperfect, 3mp with vav-consecutive; Translation: “And they saw”; Notes: Describes the perception of the officers.
- שֹֽׁטְרֵ֧י (shoterei) – Root: שוטר (sh-t-r); Form: Noun, masculine plural construct; Translation: “The officers of”; Notes: Refers to the overseers of Yisra’el.
- בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל (vnei-Yisraʾel) – Root: בן (b-n) and ישראל (y-s-r-ʾ-l); Form: Construct phrase; Translation: “The children of Yisra’el”; Notes: Identifies the group under oppression.
- אֹתָ֖ם (otam) – Root: את (ʾ-t); Form: Direct object marker with 3mp pronoun suffix; Translation: “Them”; Notes: Refers to the officers themselves.
- בְּרָ֣ע (beraʿ) – Root: רעע (r-ʿ-ʿ); Form: Preposition with noun in the absolute state; Translation: “In trouble”; Notes: Describes their dire situation.
- לֵאמֹ֑ר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “Saying”; Notes: Introduces the content of their speech.
- לֹא־תִגְרְע֥וּ (lo-tigreʿu) – Root: גרע (g-r-ʿ); Form: Qal imperfect, 2mp; Translation: “You shall not reduce”; Notes: A directive not to diminish the quota.
- מִלִּבְנֵיכֶ֖ם (milivneikhem) – Root: לבנה (l-v-n-h); Form: Noun in plural construct with 2mp suffix; Translation: “From your bricks”; Notes: Specifies the object of the command.
- דְּבַר־יֹ֥ום (devar-yom) – Root: דבר (d-v-r) and יום (y-w-m); Form: Construct phrase; Translation: “The quota of the day”; Notes: Indicates the daily requirement.
- בְּיֹומֹֽו (beyomo) – Root: יום (y-w-m); Form: Noun in the absolute state with 3ms suffix; Translation: “In its day”; Notes: Emphasizes the timing of the task.