הֲיַהֲפֹ֤ךְ כּוּשִׁי֙ עֹורֹ֔ו וְנָמֵ֖ר חֲבַרְבֻּרֹתָ֑יו גַּם־אַתֶּם֙ תּוּכְל֣וּ לְהֵיטִ֔יב לִמֻּדֵ֖י הָרֵֽעַ׃
“Can a Kushite change his skin, or a leopard his spots? So also you—can you do good, you who are accustomed to evil?
Morphology
- הֲיַהֲפֹ֤ךְ (ha-yahafoḵ) – Root: הפך; Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular with interrogative ה; Translation: “Can [he] change”; Notes: Interrogative opening, expressing rhetorical impossibility.
- כוּשִׁי (Kushi) – Root: כוש; Form: Noun, proper masculine gentilic; Translation: “a Kushite”; Notes: Refers to a man of Kush, generally associated with dark skin (likely Nubia or Sudan).
- עֹורֹו (ʿoro) – Root: עור; Form: Noun masculine singular + 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “his skin”; Notes: Literal skin, used here to pose an immutable feature.
- וְנָמֵר (ve-namer) – Root: נמר; Form: Noun masculine singular with conjunctive vav; Translation: “or a leopard”; Notes: Parallels the Kushite metaphorically.
- חֲבַרְבֻּרֹתָיו (ḥavarburotav) – Root: חברבר; Form: Noun feminine plural + 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “his spots”; Notes: Rare word for spots or markings of a leopard; expressive image of unchangeable identity.
- גַּם (gam) – Root: גם; Form: Adverb; Translation: “also”; Notes: Introduces the application to the audience—logical consequence.
- אַתֶּם (atem) – Root: אתם; Form: Independent pronoun, 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “you”; Notes: Subject of the rhetorical comparison.
- תוּכְלוּ (tukhelu) – Root: יכל; Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “can you”; Notes: Questions the possibility or ability, parallel to previous rhetorical questions.
- לְהֵיטִיב (le-heitiv) – Root: יטב; Form: Hiphil infinitive construct; Translation: “to do good”; Notes: Infinitive in object position, governed by “can.”
- לִמֻּדֵי (limmude) – Root: למד; Form: Pual participle masculine plural construct; Translation: “those who are trained in / accustomed to”; Notes: Indicates a habitual pattern, passive participle in construct form.
- הָרֵעַ (haraʿ) – Root: רעע; Form: Noun masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the evil”; Notes: Abstract or generic usage; object of “accustomed to.”