וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֱמֹ֣ר אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֡ן קַ֣ח מַטְּךָ֣ וּנְטֵֽה־יָדְךָ֩ עַל־מֵימֵ֨י מִצְרַ֜יִם עַֽל־נַהֲרֹתָ֣ם עַל־יְאֹרֵיהֶ֣ם וְעַל־אַגְמֵיהֶ֗ם וְעַ֛ל כָּל־מִקְוֵ֥ה מֵימֵיהֶ֖ם וְיִֽהְיוּ־דָ֑ם וְהָ֤יָה דָם֙ בְּכָל־אֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם וּבָעֵצִ֖ים וּבָאֲבָנִֽים׃
And the LORD said to Moshe, “Say to Aharon, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Mitsrayim, over their rivers, over their canals, over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Mitsrayim, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (vayomer) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3ms with vav consecutive; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- יְהוָ֜ה (YHWH) – Root: N/A; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “The LORD”; Notes: The divine name.
- אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה (ʾel-Mosheh) – Root: N/A; Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “To Moshe”; Notes: Marks the recipient of YHWH’s speech.
- אֱמֹ֣ר (ʾemor) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperative, 2ms; Translation: “Say”; Notes: A command to Moshe.
- אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֡ן (ʾel-Aharon) – Root: N/A; Form: Preposition + proper noun; Translation: “To Aharon”; Notes: The recipient of Moshe’s instruction.
- קַ֣ח (qah) – Root: לקח (l-q-ḥ); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperative, 2ms; Translation: “Take”; Notes: A direct command.
- מַטְּךָ֣ (matteka) – Root: מטה (m-ṭ-h); Form: Noun, ms with 2ms suffix; Translation: “Your staff”; Notes: Refers to Aharon’s staff.
- וּנְטֵֽה־יָדְךָ֩ (uneteh-yadkha) – Root: נטה (n-ṭ-h); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperative, 2ms with conjunction + noun with 2ms suffix; Translation: “And stretch out your hand”; Notes: Command to perform an action.
- עַל־מֵימֵ֨י (ʿal-meimei) – Root: מים (m-y-m); Form: Preposition + noun, mp construct; Translation: “Over the waters of”; Notes: Refers to Egypt’s water sources.
- מִצְרַ֜יִם (Mitzrayim) – Root: N/A; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: Indicates the geographical focus.
- עַֽל־נַהֲרֹתָ֣ם (ʿal-naharotam) – Root: נהר (n-h-r); Form: Noun, fp with 3mp suffix; Translation: “Over their rivers”; Notes: Refers to Egypt’s waterways.
- עַל־יְאֹרֵיהֶ֣ם (ʿal-yeʾoreihem) – Root: יאור (y-ʾ-r); Form: Noun, mp with 3mp suffix; Translation: “Over their canals”; Notes: Part of the water system.
- וְעַל־אַגְמֵיהֶ֗ם (veʿal-agmehem) – Root: אגם (ʾ-g-m); Form: Noun, mp with 3mp suffix; Translation: “Over their pools”; Notes: Refers to stagnant water sources.
- וְעַ֛ל כָּל־מִקְוֵ֥ה (veʿal kol-miqveh) – Root: מקוה (m-q-w); Form: Noun, ms construct; Translation: “And over all reservoirs of”; Notes: Indicates water collected in reservoirs.
- מֵימֵיהֶ֖ם (meimeihem) – Root: מים (m-y-m); Form: Noun, mp with 3mp suffix; Translation: “Their water”; Notes: Refers to Egypt’s water supply.
- וְיִֽהְיוּ־דָ֑ם (veyihyu-dam) – Root: היה (h-y-h) + דם (d-m); Form: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3mp with conjunction + noun, ms; Translation: “And they shall become blood”; Notes: Refers to the transformation of water into blood.
- וְהָ֤יָה דָם֙ (vehayah dam) – Root: היה (h-y-h) + דם (d-m); Form: Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3ms with conjunction + noun, ms; Translation: “And there shall be blood”; Notes: Reinforces the transformation.
- בְּכָל־אֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם (bekhol-eretz Mitzrayim) – Root: ארץ (ʾ-r-ṣ); Form: Preposition + noun, fs construct + proper noun; Translation: “Throughout all the land of Egypt”; Notes: Indicates the extent of the plague.
- וּבָעֵצִ֖ים (uvaʿetsim) – Root: עץ (ʿ-ṣ); Form: Conjunction + noun, mp; Translation: “And in the wood”; Notes: Refers to water stored in wooden vessels.
- וּבָאֲבָנִֽים (uvaʾavanim) – Root: אבן (ʾ-b-n); Form: Conjunction + noun, fp; Translation: “And in the stone”; Notes: Refers to water stored in stone vessels.