Psalms 32:9

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding; Whose trappings must be bit and bridle to hold them in, [Else] they will not come near unto thee.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אַל־תִּֽהְי֤וּ ׀ כְּס֥וּס כְּפֶרֶד֮ אֵ֤ין הָ֫בִ֥ין בְּמֶֽתֶג־וָרֶ֣סֶן עֶדְי֣וֹ לִבְל֑וֹם בַּ֝֗ל קְרֹ֣ב אֵלֶֽיךָ׃

Transliteration

ʾal-tihyû kəsûs kəp̄ereḏ ʾên hāḇîn bəmeṯeḡ-wāresen ʿeḏyô liḇlôm bal qərōḇ ʾēleḵā.

Grammar Details

• *ʾal*-*tihyû*: negative particle + qal imperfect jussive 2nd person masculine plural - do not be
• *kəsûs*: preposition *kə-* + masculine singular noun - like a horse
• *kəp̄ereḏ*: preposition *kə-* + masculine singular noun - like a mule
• *ʾên*: particle of negation - there is not
• *hāḇîn*: hiphil infinitive construct - understanding
• *bəmeṯeḡ*: preposition *bə-* + masculine singular noun - with bit
• *wāresen*: conjunction *wə-* + masculine singular noun - and bridle
• *ʿeḏyô*: masculine singular noun with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - its ornament/equipment
• *liḇlôm*: preposition *lə-* + qal infinitive construct - to restrain/check
• *bal*: negative particle - not
• *qərōḇ*: qal infinitive construct - approaching
• *ʾēleḵā*: preposition *ʾel* with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - to you

Word Meanings

• *ʾên* *hāḇîn*: without understanding/having no understanding
• *meṯeḡ*-*wāresen* *ʿeḏyô*: bit and bridle for its adorning/bit and bridle which are its restraint
• *liḇlôm*: to restrain/to hold back/to check
• *bal* *qərōḇ* *ʾēleḵā*: or else it will not come near to you/lest it come not near to you

Referenced Verses

• Prov 26:3 : 3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, And a rod for the back of fools.
• Jas 3:3 : 3 Now if we put the horses' bridles into their mouths that they may obey us, {G2532} we turn about their whole body also.
• Jas 4:7-9 : 7 Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt {G5312} you.
• Job 35:11 : 11 Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, And maketh us wiser than the birds of the heavens?
• Jer 4:22 : 22 For my people are foolish, they know me not; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
• Jer 8:6-7 : 6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repenteth him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turneth to his course, as a horse that rusheth headlong in the battle. 7 Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle-dove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the law of Jehovah.
• Jer 31:18 : 18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself [thus], Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed [to the yoke]: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art Jehovah my God.