וַיֹּ֨אמֶר בִּלְעָ֜ם אֶל־מַלְאַ֤ךְ יְהוָה֙ חָטָ֔אתִי כִּ֚י לֹ֣א יָדַ֔עְתִּי כִּ֥י אַתָּ֛ה נִצָּ֥ב לִקְרָאתִ֖י בַּדָּ֑רֶךְ וְעַתָּ֛ה אִם־רַ֥ע בְּעֵינֶ֖יךָ אָשׁ֥וּבָה לִּֽי׃
And Bilʿam said to the angel of YHWH, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood against me on the way. Now, if it displeases you, I will turn back.”
Morphology
- וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (vayomer) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “And he said”; Notes: Refers to Bilʿam speaking.
- בִּלְעָ֜ם (Bilʿam) – Root: בלע (balaʿ); Form: Proper noun, masculine singular; Translation: “Bilʿam”; Notes: The speaker.
- אֶל־מַלְאַ֤ךְ (el-malʾakh) – Root: מלאך (malʾakh); Form: Preposition with noun, masculine singular; Translation: “to the angel”; Notes: Refers to the divine messenger.
- יְהוָה֙ (YHWH) – Root: יהוה (YHWH); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The divine name.
- חָטָ֔אתִי (chatati) – Root: חטא (chataʾ); Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I have sinned”; Notes: Bilʿam acknowledges his wrongdoing.
- כִּ֚י (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “for”; Notes: Introduces the reason.
- לֹ֣א (lo) – Root: לא (lo); Form: Negative particle; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the following verb.
- יָדַ֔עְתִּי (yadaʿti) – Root: ידע (yadaʿ); Form: Qal perfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I knew”; Notes: Indicates lack of knowledge.
- כִּ֥י (ki) – Root: כי (ki); Form: Conjunction; Translation: “that”; Notes: Introduces the clause.
- אַתָּ֛ה (attah) – Root: את (att); Form: Pronoun, 2nd person masculine singular; Translation: “you”; Notes: Refers to the angel.
- נִצָּ֥ב (nitsav) – Root: נצב (natsav); Form: Nifal participle masculine singular; Translation: “stood”; Notes: Describes the angel’s position.
- לִקְרָאתִ֖י (likrati) – Root: קרא (qaraʾ); Form: Preposition with noun, masculine singular, 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “against me”; Notes: Indicates the opposition.
- בַּדָּ֑רֶךְ (baderekh) – Root: דרך (derekh); Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “on the way”; Notes: Refers to Bilʿam’s path.
- וְעַתָּ֛ה (ve-attah) – Root: עת (ʿet); Form: Conjunction with adverb; Translation: “and now”; Notes: Signals a transition.
- אִם־רַ֥ע (im-raʿ) – Root: רעע (raʿaʿ); Form: Conditional particle with adjective; Translation: “if displeasing”; Notes: Introduces a condition.
- בְּעֵינֶ֖יךָ (beʿenekha) – Root: עין (ʿayin); Form: Noun, dual with 2nd person masculine singular suffix and preposition; Translation: “in your eyes”; Notes: Indicates perspective.
- אָשׁ֥וּבָה (ashuvah) – Root: שוב (shuv); Form: Qal cohortative 1st person singular; Translation: “I will turn back”; Notes: Expresses willingness.
- לִּֽי׃ (li) – Root: לי (li); Form: Preposition with 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Concludes the statement.