Deuteronomy 32:41

Summary

The verse presents a conditional/temporal statement in which Yehovah declares that when he sharpens his sword and takes it in hand for judgment, he will repay vengeance on his adversaries and on those who hate him. The passage uses parallel structure to emphasize retribution against enemies.

Key words

• sha.no.Ti ("I sharpen", H8150) — qal perfect, first person; a completed action introduced by the conditional 'im- ("if", H0518A), describing the sharpening of the sword.
• be.Rak ("lightning of", H1300B) — construct noun describing the sword's flash, forming the phrase "lightning of my sword."
• to.Chez ("it may take hold", H0270) — qal imperfect with vav, third person feminine, referring back to yad ("hand", H3027G); expresses purpose or continuation following the sharpening.
• 'a.Shiv ("I will return", H7725K) — hiphil (causative) imperfect, first person; introduces the main clause of retribution, paired with na.Kam ("vengeance", H5359).
• 'a.sha.Lem ("I will repay", H7999A) — piel (intensive) imperfect, first person; closes the verse with a parallel verb of repayment matching 'a.Shiv.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the conditional particle 'im- ("if", H0518A), governing two verbs in construct with imagery of the sword: sha.no.Ti ("I sharpen", H8150) modifying be.Rak char.B-i ("lightning of my sword", H1300B + H2719 + H9020), and to.Chez ("it may take hold", H0270) governing yad-i ("my hand", H3027G + H9020) in the phrase be.mish.Pat ("in judgment", H4941G). This construction ties the sharpening of the sword and the seizing of the hand together as the protasis (the "if" clause), setting up conditions that lead to the main declaration.

The apodosis follows with two parallel verbs: 'a.Shiv ("I will return", H7725K), a hiphil imperfect indicating causation ("I will bring back/return vengeance"), paired with the object na.Kam ("vengeance", H5359) directed le.tza.Ra-i ("to my foes", H6862C + H9020); and 'a.sha.Lem ("I will repay", H7999A), a piel imperfect denoting intensive action, directed li.m.san.'A-i ("to those who hate me", H8130 + H9030). The participle m.san.'A ("hating", H8130) is in construct plural form, meaning "the ones who hate," functioning as a noun phrase parallel to tza.Ra ("foes", H6862C). The two closing verbs create a chiastic-like parallelism: vengeance/foes and repay/haters, reinforcing the symmetry of the statement through matched grammatical structures (both imperfect, both directed at enemies).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the conditional 'im- ("if", H0518A) as ὅτι ("because/that"), shifting the clause from conditional to causal in Greek. Where the Hebrew has to.Chez ("it may take hold", H0270) as an imperfect with vav expressing purpose tied to the hand grasping the sword, the LXX and Vulgate render this as a completed or resultant action ("ἀνθέξεται", "arripuerit"). The Vulgate follows the Hebrew conditional structure with "Si acuero" ("if I shall have sharpened"), preserving the conditional sense that the LXX does not.