לוּ־אִ֞ישׁ הֹלֵ֥ךְ ר֨וּחַ֙ וָשֶׁ֣קֶר כִּזֵּ֔ב אַטִּ֣ף לְךָ֔ לַיַּ֖יִן וְלַשֵּׁכָ֑ר וְהָיָ֥ה מַטִּ֖יף הָעָ֥ם הַזֶּֽה׃
If a man, going with spirit and falsehood, lies: ‘I will prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink,’ then he would be the prophet of this people.
Morphology
- לוּ (lu) — Root: particle; Form: Optative particle; Translation: “If / O that”; Notes: Introduces a hypothetical or ironic condition.
- אִישׁ (ish) — Root: אישׁ (ish); Form: Noun masculine singular; Translation: “a man”; Notes: Refers to a hypothetical false prophet.
- הֹלֵךְ (holekh) — Root: הלך (halakh); Form: Qal participle masculine singular; Translation: “walking”; Notes: Indicates ongoing behavior.
- רוּחַ (ruaḥ) — Root: רוח (ruaḥ); Form: Noun feminine singular; Translation: “wind / spirit”; Notes: Suggests instability or emptiness.
- וָשֶׁקֶר (va-sheqer) — Root: שׁקר (sheqer); Form: Conjunction + noun masculine singular; Translation: “and falsehood”; Notes: Describes deceptive character.
- כִּזֵּב (kizzev) — Root: כזב (kazav); Form: Piel perfect 3ms; Translation: “lies”; Notes: Indicates deliberate deception.
- אַטִּף (attif) — Root: נטף (nataf); Form: Piel imperfect 1cs; Translation: “I will drip / prophesy”; Notes: Ironically mimics false-prophetic speech.
- לְךָ (lekha) — Root: suffix only; Form: Preposition לְ + suffix 2ms; Translation: “for you”; Notes: Directs false prophecy to the listener.
- לַיַּיִן (la-yayin) — Root: יין (yayin); Form: Preposition לְ + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “of the wine”; Notes: Content of their supposed prophecy.
- וְלַשֵּׁכָר (ve-la-shekar) — Root: שׁכר (shekhar); Form: Conjunction + preposition לְ + definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “and of the strong drink”; Notes: Associates prophecy with indulgence and excess.
- וְהָיָה (ve-hayah) — Root: היה (hayah); Form: Conjunction + Qal perfect 3ms (future sense); Translation: “then he shall be”; Notes: Consequence of the hypothetical condition.
- מַטִּיף (mattif) — Root: נטף (nataf); Form: Piel participle masculine singular; Translation: “the dripper / prophesier”; Notes: Sarcastic reference to a false prophet.
- הָעָם (ha-ʿam) — Root: עם (ʿam); Form: Definite noun masculine singular; Translation: “the people”; Notes: Refers to Yisraʾel.
- הַזֶּה (ha-zeh) — Root: זה (zeh); Form: Demonstrative masculine singular; Translation: “this”; Notes: Emphasizes the specific people addressed.