וְכִ֣י תֹאמְר֔וּ מַה־נֹּאכַ֖ל בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשְּׁבִיעִ֑ת הֵ֚ן לֹ֣א נִזְרָ֔ע וְלֹ֥א נֶאֱסֹ֖ף אֶת־תְּבוּאָתֵֽנוּ׃
And if you say, ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow nor gather our produce!’
Morphology
- וְכִ֣י (ve-ki) – Root: כי (k-y); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “And if”; Notes: Introduces a conditional statement.
- תֹאמְר֔וּ (toʾmeru) – Root: אמר (ʾ-m-r); Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “You say”; Notes: Refers to a hypothetical inquiry.
- מַה־נֹּאכַ֖ל (mah-noʾkhal) – Root: אכל (ʾ-k-l); Form: Interrogative מַה with Qal imperfect 1st person plural; Translation: “What shall we eat”; Notes: Expresses concern about sustenance.
- בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה (ba-shanah) – Root: שׁנה (sh-n-h); Form: Feminine singular noun with definite article ב; Translation: “In the year”; Notes: Specifies the time frame.
- הַשְּׁבִיעִ֑ת (ha-shevʿit) – Root: שׁבע (sh-b-ʿ); Form: Feminine ordinal adjective; Translation: “The seventh”; Notes: Refers to the sabbatical year.
- הֵ֚ן (hen) – Root: הן (h-n); Form: Particle; Translation: “Behold”; Notes: Introduces emphasis or certainty.
- לֹ֣א (lo) – Root: לא (l-ʾ); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “Not”; Notes: Negates the following verb.
- נִזְרָ֔ע (nizraʿ) – Root: זרע (z-r-ʿ); Form: Qal imperfect 1st person plural; Translation: “We shall sow”; Notes: Indicates agricultural activity.
- וְלֹ֥א (ve-lo) – Root: לא (l-ʾ); Form: Conjunction ו with negative particle; Translation: “Nor”; Notes: Connects and negates the next verb.
- נֶאֱסֹ֖ף (neʾesof) – Root: אסף (ʾ-s-f); Form: Qal imperfect 1st person plural; Translation: “We shall gather”; Notes: Refers to harvesting activity.
- אֶת־תְּבוּאָתֵֽנוּ׃ (et-tevuʾatenu) – Root: תבואה (t-v-ʾ); Form: Feminine singular noun with 1st person plural suffix; Translation: “Our produce”; Notes: Refers to agricultural yield.