תְּבַקְשֵׁם֙ וְלֹ֣א תִמְצָאֵ֔ם אַנְשֵׁ֖י מַצֻּתֶ֑ךָ יִהְי֥וּ כְאַ֛יִן וּכְאֶ֖פֶס אַנְשֵׁ֥י מִלְחַמְתֶּֽךָ׃
You shall seek them, but you shall not find them—those who contended with you. They shall be as nothing and as utter nothingness, the men of your war.
Morphology
- תְּבַקְשֵׁם (tevaqqeshem) – Root: בקשׁ (baqqash); Form: Piel imperfect 2nd person masculine singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “you shall seek them”; Notes: Intensive stem denoting earnest search.
- וְלֹא (ve-lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Conjunction + negative particle; Translation: “but not”; Notes: Negates the next verb in contrastive parallel.
- תִמְצָאֵם (timtsaʾem) – Root: מצא (matsaʾ); Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “you shall find them”; Notes: Parallel to “seek,” emphasizes futility of pursuit.
- אַנְשֵׁי (ʾanshei) – Root: אנשׁ (ʾenosh); Form: Construct form of noun masculine plural; Translation: “men of”; Notes: Introduces possessive relationship.
- מַצֻּתֶךָ (matstutekha) – Root: נצה (natsa); Form: Noun feminine singular with 2nd person masculine singular suffix (possibly in construct); Translation: “your contention”; Notes: Refers to opponents or those engaged in conflict with you.
- יִהְיוּ (yihyu) – Root: היה (haya); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural; Translation: “they shall be”; Notes: Verb of state or existence.
- כְאַיִן (ke-ʾayin) – Root: אין (ʾayin); Form: Preposition כְ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “as nothing”; Notes: Expresses insignificance or nonexistence.
- וּכְאֶפֶס (u-kheʾefes) – Root: אפס (ʾefes); Form: Conjunction + preposition כְ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and as utter nothingness”; Notes: Reinforces total vanishing or futility.
- אַנְשֵׁי (ʾanshei) – Root: אנשׁ (ʾenosh); Form: Construct form of noun masculine plural; Translation: “men of”; Notes: Repetition creates poetic parallelism.
- מִלְחַמְתֶּךָ (milḥamtekha) – Root: לחם (laḥam); Form: Noun feminine singular + 2nd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “your war”; Notes: Refers to adversaries involved in battle or hostility against the speaker.