וְ֠אַתֶּם אַל־תִּשְׁמְע֨וּ אֶל־נְבִיאֵיכֶ֜ם וְאֶל־קֹֽסְמֵיכֶ֗ם וְאֶל֙ חֲלֹמֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וְאֶל־עֹֽנְנֵיכֶ֖ם וְאֶל־כַּשָּׁפֵיכֶ֑ם אֲשֶׁר־הֵ֞ם אֹמְרִ֤ים אֲלֵיכֶם֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹ֥א תַעַבְד֖וּ אֶת־מֶ֥לֶךְ בָּבֶֽל׃
And you, do not listen to your prophets, and to your diviners, and to your dreamers, and to your soothsayers, and to your sorcerers, who are saying to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Bavel.”
Morphology
- וְאַתֶּם (ve-atem) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction + independent personal pronoun, 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “and you”; Notes: Direct address, emphasizing the audience.
- אַל (ʾal) – Root: —; Form: Negative particle; Translation: “do not”; Notes: Used to prohibit an action.
- תִּשְׁמְעוּ (tishmeʿu) – Root: שׁמע; Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “listen”; Notes: Here, in the negative, meaning “do not heed.”
- אֶל־נְבִיאֵיכֶם (el-neviʾeikhem) – Root: נבא; Form: Preposition אֶל + noun masculine plural construct + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “to your prophets”; Notes: Refers to self-proclaimed prophets misleading the people.
- וְאֶל־קֹסְמֵיכֶם (ve-el-qosmeikhem) – Root: קסם; Form: Conjunction + preposition אֶל + noun masculine plural construct + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “and to your diviners”; Notes: Practitioners of forbidden occult prediction.
- וְאֶל־חֲלֹמֹתֵיכֶם (ve-el-ḥalomoteikhem) – Root: חלם; Form: Conjunction + preposition אֶל + noun masculine plural construct + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “and to your dreamers”; Notes: Those who claim revelations through dreams.
- וְאֶל־עֹנְנֵיכֶם (ve-el-ʿonenekhem) – Root: ענן; Form: Conjunction + preposition אֶל + noun masculine plural construct + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “and to your soothsayers”; Notes: Refers to practitioners of omen reading.
- וְאֶל־כַּשָּׁפֵיכֶם (ve-el-kashafeikhem) – Root: כשׁף; Form: Conjunction + preposition אֶל + noun masculine plural construct + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “and to your sorcerers”; Notes: Refers to those practicing magical arts.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: —; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause about the previously listed groups.
- הֵם (hem) – Root: —; Form: Independent personal pronoun, masculine plural; Translation: “they”; Notes: Emphasizes the subject in the relative clause.
- אֹמְרִים (ʾomrim) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal participle masculine plural; Translation: “are saying”; Notes: Describes ongoing speech.
- אֲלֵיכֶם (aleikhem) – Root: אל; Form: Preposition אֶל + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Marks the recipients of the speech.
- לֵאמֹר (leʾemor) – Root: אמר; Form: Qal infinitive construct with prefixed לְ; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Introduces direct reported speech.
- לֹא (lo) – Root: —; Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the following verb.
- תַעַבְדוּ (taʿavdu) – Root: עבד; Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “you shall serve”; Notes: Here in the negative, meaning “you shall not serve.”
- אֶת־מֶלֶךְ (et-melekh) – Root: מלך; Form: Direct object marker + noun masculine singular; Translation: “the king of”; Notes: Object of the verb “serve.”
- בָּבֶל (Bavel) – Root: —; Form: Proper name; Translation: “Bavel”; Notes: Refers to the Babylonian empire.