קְח֣וּ נָשִׁ֗ים וְהֹולִידוּ֮ בָּנִ֣ים וּבָנֹות֒ וּקְח֨וּ לִבְנֵיכֶ֜ם נָשִׁ֗ים וְאֶת־בְּנֹֽותֵיכֶם֙ תְּנ֣וּ לַֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים וְתֵלַ֖דְנָה בָּנִ֣ים וּבָנֹ֑ות וּרְבוּ־שָׁ֖ם וְאַל־תִּמְעָֽטוּ׃
Take wives and beget sons and daughters, and take for your sons wives, and your daughters give to men, and let them bear sons and daughters, and multiply there and do not diminish.
Morphology
- קְחוּ (keḥu) – Root: לקח (laqach); Form: Qal imperative masculine plural; Translation: “Take”; Notes: Command to acquire wives for marriage.
- נָשִׁים (nashim) – Root: אשה (ishah); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “wives”; Notes: Plural form of “woman,” here meaning wives.
- וְהֹולִידוּ (ve-holidu) – Root: ילד (yalad); Form: Hiphil imperative masculine plural; Translation: “and beget”; Notes: Causative form—cause children to be born.
- בָּנִים (banim) – Root: בן (ben); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Refers to male offspring.
- וּבָנוֹת (u-vanot) – Root: בת (bat); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “daughters”; Notes: Refers to female offspring.
- וּקְחוּ (u-keḥu) – Root: לקח (laqach); Form: Conjunction + Qal imperative masculine plural; Translation: “and take”; Notes: Parallel command for arranging marriages for sons.
- לִבְנֵיכֶם (li-vneikhem) – Root: בן (ben); Form: Preposition + noun masculine plural construct + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “for your sons”; Notes: Marks the beneficiaries of the action.
- נָשִׁים (nashim) – Root: אשה (ishah); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “wives”; Notes: Same form and meaning as earlier occurrence.
- וְאֶת־ (ve-et) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction + direct object marker; Translation: (no direct translation); Notes: Introduces the direct object “your daughters.”
- בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם (benoteikhem) – Root: בת (bat); Form: Noun feminine plural construct + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “your daughters”; Notes: Female children belonging to the addressed group.
- תְּנוּ (tenu) – Root: נתן (natan); Form: Qal imperative masculine plural; Translation: “give”; Notes: Here in the sense of giving in marriage.
- לַאֲנָשִׁים (la-anashim) – Root: אישׁ (ish); Form: Preposition לְ + noun masculine plural; Translation: “to men”; Notes: Denotes the husbands they will marry.
- וְתֵלַדְנָה (ve-teladnah) – Root: ילד (yalad); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person feminine plural (jussive sense); Translation: “and let them bear”; Notes: Refers to the daughters producing children.
- בָּנִים (banim) – Root: בן (ben); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Male offspring from these marriages.
- וּבָנוֹת (u-vanot) – Root: בת (bat); Form: Noun feminine plural; Translation: “daughters”; Notes: Female offspring from these marriages.
- וּרְבוּ (u-revu) – Root: רבה (ravah); Form: Qal imperative masculine plural; Translation: “and multiply”; Notes: Command to increase in number.
- שָׁם (sham) – Root: שם (sham); Form: Adverb; Translation: “there”; Notes: Refers to the place of exile.
- וְאַל (ve-al) – Root: אל (ʾal); Form: Conjunction + negative particle; Translation: “and do not”; Notes: Prohibitive negative.
- תִּמְעָטוּ (timʿatu) – Root: מעט (maʿat); Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural (jussive sense); Translation: “diminish”; Notes: Command not to decrease in number.