אַל־תִּֽהְיֵה־לִ֖י לִמְחִתָּ֑ה מַֽחֲסִי־אַ֖תָּה בְּיֹ֥ום רָעָֽה׃
Do not be to me a terror; my refuge You are in the day of evil.
Morphology
- אַל־ (ʾal) – Root: אל; Form: Negative particle for jussive/imperative; Translation: “Do not”; Notes: Introduces a plea or prohibition addressed to YHWH.
- תִּֽהְיֵה־ (tihyeh) – Root: היה; Form: Qal jussive 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “be”; Notes: Requesting YHWH not to become something undesirable.
- לִ֖י (li) – Root: לי; Form: Preposition לְ + first person singular suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Marks the speaker as the affected recipient.
- לִמְחִתָּ֑ה (limḥittah) – Root: מחץ; Form: Preposition לְ + noun feminine singular; Translation: “for a terror” or “for destruction”; Notes: A term of calamity or crushing fear.
- מַֽחֲסִי־ (maḥasi) – Root: חסה; Form: Noun masculine singular with 1st person singular suffix in construct; Translation: “my refuge”; Notes: Expresses trust—YHWH as the one in whom the speaker finds safety.
- אַ֖תָּה (attah) – Root: אתה; Form: Independent pronoun 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “You are”; Notes: Emphatic identification of YHWH as refuge.
- בְּיֹ֥ום (be-yom) – Root: יום; Form: Preposition בְּ + noun masculine singular; Translation: “in the day”; Notes: Temporal marker indicating time of need or crisis.
- רָעָֽה (raʿah) – Root: רעע; Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “evil” or “disaster”; Notes: Refers to a time of judgment, calamity, or trouble.