Isaiah 36:21

וַֽיַּחֲרִ֔ישׁוּ וְלֹֽא־עָנ֥וּ אֹתֹ֖ו דָּבָ֑ר כִּֽי־מִצְוַ֨ת הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ הִ֛יא לֵאמֹ֖ר לֹ֥א תַעֲנֻֽהוּ׃

But they kept silent and did not answer him a word, for the commandment of the king was: “You shall not answer him.”

Morphology

1. וַֽיַּחֲרִ֔ישׁוּ (vayyaḥarīshu) – Root: חרשׁ; Form: Qal wayyiqtol 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “And they kept silent”; Notes: The verb is in the narrative past form (wayyiqtol), indicating a sequential action.
2. וְלֹֽא־עָנ֥וּ (ve-lo ʿānu) – Root: ענה; Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural with negative particle; Translation: “and they did not answer”; Notes: Follows the previous verb to express continued inaction.
3. אֹתֹ֖ו (ʾotō) – Root: את; Form: Direct object marker with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Rab-shaqeh, the Assyrian envoy.
4. דָּבָ֑ר (dāvar) – Root: דבר; Form: Noun, masculine singular absolute; Translation: “a word”; Notes: Emphasizes the complete silence—no response at all.
5. כִּֽי־ (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for”; Notes: Introduces the reason for their silence.
6. מִצְוַ֨ת (mitsvat) – Root: צוה; Form: Noun, feminine singular construct; Translation: “commandment of”; Notes: Construct state, linked to the following word.
7. הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ (ha-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Noun, masculine singular definite; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Refers to Ḥizqiyyahu (Hezekiah).
8. הִ֛יא (hiʾ) – Root: היא; Form: Independent pronoun, feminine singular; Translation: “it is”; Notes: Copular use, referring back to the “commandment.”
9. לֵאמֹ֖ר (leʾmor) – Root: אמר; Form: Infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces the content of the king’s command.
10. לֹ֥א (lo) – Root: לא; Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the following verb.
11. תַעֲנֻֽהוּ (taʿanuhu) – Root: ענה; Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “you shall answer him”; Notes: The suffix refers to Rab-shaqeh. The negative imperative form is expressed through imperfect + לֹא.