Numbers 9:12

Summary

This verse gives two specific ritual prohibitions concerning the Passover offering — not leaving any of it until morning and not breaking any of its bones — followed by a general instruction to perform the Passover according to its complete statute.

Key words

• yash.'i.ru ("they will leave over", H7604) — Hiphil (causative) imperfect, third person masculine plural: describes a prohibited future action, "they shall not cause [any] to remain."
• bo.ker ("morning", H1242) — masculine singular noun marking the temporal boundary; the prohibition against leftovers is bound specifically to this time limit.
• 'e.tzem ("a bone", H6106G) — feminine singular noun, object of the second prohibition, paired with the verb yish.be.ru ("they will break", H7665, Qal imperfect).
• chu.Kat ("statute of", H2708) — feminine singular construct noun, linked to kol ("every", H3605) also in construct, forming "according to every statute of" — a phrase governing the whole final clause.
• ya.'a.Su ("they will observe", H6213A) — Qal imperfect third person masculine plural, the main verb of the final clause, taking 'oto ("it", H0853 + suffix) as its direct object.

What the text says

The verse is structured in three parallel clauses, each built on a negated or affirmed imperfect verb governing a pronominal suffix referring back to the Passover offering (the antecedent established in the preceding context). The first clause, lo' yash.'i.ru mimEnnu 'ad boker ("they will not leave from it until morning"), uses the Hiphil form of sha'ar (H7604), a causative stem indicating that the subject actively prevents any portion from remaining — not merely that nothing happens to remain, but that they must not allow it to remain.

The second clause, ve'Etzem lo' yishberu-vo ("and a bone they will not break in it"), places the object 'Etzem ("a bone", H6106G) before the verb, which in Biblical Hebrew word order gives it a degree of topical emphasis within the clause. The verb yishberu (H7665) is Qal, a simple non-causative action, describing direct physical breaking.

The third clause shifts from specific prohibitions to a general standard: kekhol chuKat haPesach ya'aSu 'oto ("according to every statute of the Passover they will observe it"). The construct chain kol-chuKat haPesach ("every statute of the Passover") functions as an adverbial standard modifying how the verb ya'aSu (H6213A, "they will do/observe") is to be carried out. The direct object marker 'et with suffix ('oTo, H0853+H9033) explicitly marks "it" — the Passover offering — as the thing being performed or executed according to that statute.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the third clause with κατὰ τὸν νόμον ("according to the law") where the Hebrew has kekhol chuKat haPesach ("according to every statute of the Passover"), omitting the specific repetition of "Passover" and the term "every." The Vulgate's omnem ritum Phase observabunt ("they will observe the entire rite of the Passover") preserves the totality nuance of kol ("every/all") more closely than the LXX's shorter phrase.