וְלָ֤מָּה

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 וְלָ֤מָּה

   ve-la-MA

   and why
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 וְלָ֤מָּה תֶֽחֱטָא֙

   ve-la-MA te-khe-TA

   and why will you sin
3. clause🔊 וְלָ֤מָּה תֶֽחֱטָא֙ בְּדָ֣ם נָקִ֔י לְהָמִ֥ית אֶת־דָּוִ֖ד חִנָּֽם׃

   ve-la-MA te-khe-TA be-DAM na-KI le-ha-MIT et-da-VID khi-NAM

   and why will you sin with blood innocent to put to death David without cause
4. sentence🔊 וַיָּשֶׂם֩ אֶת־נַפְשׁ֨וֹ בְכַפּ֜וֹ וַיַּ֣ךְ אֶת־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֗י וַיַּ֨עַשׂ יְהוָ֜ה תְּשׁוּעָ֤ה גְדוֹלָה֙ לְכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל רָאִ֖יתָ וַתִּשְׂמָ֑ח וְלָ֤מָּה תֶֽחֱטָא֙ בְּדָ֣ם נָקִ֔י לְהָמִ֥ית אֶת־דָּוִ֖ד חִנָּֽם׃

   va-ya-SEM et-naf-SHO ve-kha-PO va-YAKH et-ha-pe-lish-TI va-ya-AS ye-ho-VAH te-shu-A ge-do-LA le-khol-yis-ra-EL ra-I-ta va-tis-MAKH ve-la-MA te-khe-TA be-DAM na-KI le-ha-MIT et-da-VID khi-NAM

   and he put in his palm and he struck the Philistine and he made or did the LORD salvation great for all Israel you saw and you rejoiced and why will you sin with blood innocent to put to death David without cause

Exegesis

The perfect forms rāʾîtā {רָאִיתָ | rāʾîtā} ‘you saw’ and wăṯišmāḥ {וַתִּשְׂמָח | wăṯišmāḥ} ‘and you rejoiced’ address the audience directly, while the interrogative wə-lāmmāh təḥeṭāʾ {וְלָמָּה תֶחֱטָא | wə-lāmmāh təḥeṭāʾ} ‘and why would you sin’ introduces a moral challenge, culminating in the infinitive lə-hā-mît {לְהָמִית | lə-hā-mît} ‘to kill’.