הָכִ֧ינוּ לְבָנָ֛יו מַטְבֵּ֖חַ בַּעֲוֹ֣ן אֲבֹותָ֑ם בַּל־יָקֻ֨מוּ֙ וְיָ֣רְשׁוּ אָ֔רֶץ וּמָלְא֥וּ פְנֵֽי־תֵבֵ֖ל עָרִֽים׃
Prepare a slaughter-place for his sons because of the iniquity of their fathers, so that they do not rise and possess the land and fill the face of the world with cities.
Morphology
- הָכִינוּ (hakhinu) – Root: כון (kun); Form: Hifil imperative masculine plural; Translation: “Prepare”; Notes: A command directed at the agents of judgment.
- לְבָנָיו (le-vanav) – Root: בן (ben); Form: Preposition + noun masculine plural with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “for his sons”; Notes: Refers to descendants of the wicked king.
- מַטְבֵּחַ (matbeach) – Root: טבח (ṭavaḥ); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “slaughter-place” or “place of massacre”; Notes: Symbolic of total judgment and extinction.
- בַּעֲוֹן (ba-ʿavon) – Root: עון (ʿavon); Form: Preposition + noun masculine singular; Translation: “because of the iniquity”; Notes: Their fate is tied to the guilt of their forefathers.
- אֲבֹותָם (avotam) – Root: אב (av); Form: Noun masculine plural with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “of their fathers”; Notes: Emphasizes generational judgment.
- בַּל (bal) – Root: Negative particle; Form: Interjection or particle of negation; Translation: “lest” or “so that not”; Notes: Preventative clause marker.
- יָקֻמוּ (yaqumu) – Root: קום (qum); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they rise”; Notes: Refers to reestablishing power or posterity.
- וְיָרְשׁוּ (veyarshu) – Root: ירשׁ (yarash); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural with vav; Translation: “and possess”; Notes: Conquest or inheritance of the land.
- אָרֶץ (ʾaretz) – Root: ארץ (ʾerets); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “land”; Notes: The earth or territory to be denied them.
- וּמָלְאוּ (umalʾu) – Root: מלא (maleʾ); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural with vav; Translation: “and fill”; Notes: Continuation of what would happen if they were not stopped.
- פְנֵי־תֵבֵל (penei-tevel) – Root: פנה (paneh) + תבל; Form: Construct phrase; Translation: “the face of the world”; Notes: “Tevel” emphasizes the inhabited earth.
- עָרִים (ʿarim) – Root: עיר (ʿir); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “cities”; Notes: Suggests aggressive expansion or dominance if they were allowed to survive.