וְלֹא־תִקְח֣וּ כֹ֔פֶר לָנ֖וּס אֶל־עִ֣יר מִקְלָטֹ֑ו לָשׁוּב֙ לָשֶׁ֣בֶת בָּאָ֔רֶץ עַד־מֹ֖ות הַכֹּהֵֽן׃
And you shall not accept ransom for one who has fled to his city of refuge, to allow him to return to live in the land before the death of the priest.
Morphology
- וְלֹא־תִקְח֣וּ (velo-tiqchu) – Root: לקח (lqḥ); Form: Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine plural; Translation: “And you shall not take”; Notes: Prohibits accepting ransom.
- כֹ֔פֶר (kofer) – Root: כפר (kpr); Form: Noun, masculine singular; Translation: “ransom”; Notes: Refers to a substitution payment.
- לָנ֖וּס (la-nus) – Root: נוס (ns); Form: Qal infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “for one who has fled”; Notes: Refers to the act of fleeing to a city of refuge.
- אֶל־עִ֣יר (el-ir) – Root: עיר (ʿyr); Form: Preposition with noun, feminine singular; Translation: “to the city”; Notes: Indicates the destination.
- מִקְלָטֹ֑ו (miqlato) – Root: קלט (qlṭ); Form: Noun, masculine singular construct with 3rd person masculine singular suffix; Translation: “of his refuge”; Notes: Specifies the purpose of the city.
- לָשׁוּב֙ (lashuv) – Root: שוב (shuv); Form: Qal infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “to return”; Notes: Denotes the action of going back.
- לָשֶׁ֣בֶת (lashevet) – Root: ישב (yshv); Form: Qal infinitive construct with preposition; Translation: “to live”; Notes: Indicates resettling in the land.
- בָּאָ֔רֶץ (ba-aretz) – Root: ארץ (ʾrṣ); Form: Noun, feminine singular with definite article; Translation: “in the land”; Notes: Refers to the territory of Israel.
- עַד־מֹ֖ות (ʿad-mot) – Root: מות (mwt); Form: Preposition with noun, masculine singular construct; Translation: “until the death”; Notes: Indicates a temporal boundary.
- הַכֹּהֵֽן׃ (ha-kohen) – Root: כהן (khn); Form: Noun, masculine singular with definite article; Translation: “the priest”; Notes: Refers to the religious leader whose death marks the end of the exile.