וַיַּ֖עַן וַיֹּאמַ֑ר הֲלֹ֗א אֵת֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָשִׂ֤ים יְהוָה֙ בְּפִ֔י אֹתֹ֥ו אֶשְׁמֹ֖ר לְדַבֵּֽר׃
And he answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak that which YHWH puts in my mouth?”
Morphology
- וַיַּ֖עַן (vayaʿan) – Root: ענה (ʿanah); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “And he answered”; Notes: Indicates a response.
- וַיֹּאמַ֑ר (vayomar) – Root: אמר (ʾamar); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular with vav-consecutive; Translation: “and said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
- הֲלֹ֗א (halo) – Root: הל (hal); Form: Interrogative particle; Translation: “Must I not”; Notes: Indicates a rhetorical question.
- אֵת֩ (ʾet) – Root: את (ʾet); Form: Direct object marker; Translation: (untranslated); Notes: Marks the direct object.
- אֲשֶׁ֨ר (ʾasher) – Root: אשר (ʾasher); Form: Relative pronoun; Translation: “that which”; Notes: Introduces a relative clause.
- יָשִׂ֤ים (yasim) – Root: שים (sim); Form: Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “puts”; Notes: Refers to placing or assigning.
- יְהוָה֙ (YHWH) – Root: יהוה (YHWH); Form: Proper noun; Translation: “YHWH”; Notes: The Tetragrammaton, referring to God.
- בְּפִ֔י (be-fi) – Root: פה (peh); Form: Noun, masculine singular with preposition and 1st person singular suffix; Translation: “in my mouth”; Notes: Indicates the source of speech.
- אֹתֹ֥ו (oto) – Root: את (ʾet); Form: Pronoun, masculine singular; Translation: “it”; Notes: Refers to the word given by YHWH.
- אֶשְׁמֹ֖ר (ʾeshmor) – Root: שמר (shamar); Form: Qal imperfect 1st person singular; Translation: “I must take heed”; Notes: Indicates careful observance.
- לְדַבֵּֽר׃ (ledabber) – Root: דבר (davar); Form: Piel infinitive construct; Translation: “to speak”; Notes: Indicates the purpose of action.