כִּי֩ הִנְנִ֨י מְשַׁלֵּ֜חַ בָּכֶ֗ם נְחָשִׁים֙ צִפְעֹנִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵין־לָהֶ֖ם לָ֑חַשׁ וְנִשְּׁכ֥וּ אֶתְכֶ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃ ס
For behold, I am sending among you serpents, vipers which cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you,” declares YHWH.
Morphology
- כִּי (ki) – Root: —; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “For”; Notes: Introduces reason or divine intention.
- הִנְנִי (hinneni) – Root: —; Form: Interjection + 1st person singular pronoun suffix; Translation: “Behold, I”; Notes: Emphatic declaration of immediate divine action.
- מְשַׁלֵּחַ (meshalleaḥ) – Root: שלח (shalaḥ); Form: Piel participle masculine singular; Translation: “sending”; Notes: Intensive participle indicating determined divine action.
- בָּכֶם (bakhem) – Root: ב־ (be) + אתם (ʾatem); Form: Preposition + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “among you” or “against you”; Notes: Marks the recipients of divine judgment.
- נְחָשִׁים (neḥashim) – Root: נחשׁ (naḥash); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “serpents”; Notes: Symbol of danger, destruction, or divine punishment.
- צִפְעֹנִים (tsifʿonim) – Root: צפע (tsafaʿ); Form: Noun masculine plural; Translation: “vipers”; Notes: A venomous species of serpent—adds emphasis to their lethality.
- אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher) – Root: —; Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “which”; Notes: Introduces a descriptive clause about the vipers.
- אֵין־לָהֶם (ein-lahem) – Root: —; Form: Negative existential particle + preposition + 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “they have no”; Notes: Total lack of the ability or trait described next.
- לָחַשׁ (laḥash) – Root: לחשׁ (laḥash); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “charm” or “incantation”; Notes: Refers to magical control; these snakes cannot be subdued.
- וְנִשְּׁכוּ (ve-nishkhu) – Root: נשׁך (nashakh); Form: Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural with prefixed conjunction; Translation: “and they shall bite”; Notes: Violent result of sending the serpents.
- אֶתְכֶם (etkhem) – Root: —; Form: Direct object marker + 2nd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “you”; Notes: Emphatically directed against the people.
- נְאֻם־יְהוָה (neʾum-YHWH) – Root: נאם (naʾam); Form: Noun construct + divine name; Translation: “declares YHWH”; Notes: Standard prophetic formula asserting divine authority.