וּבְטֶ֛רֶם

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 וּבְטֶ֛רֶם

   u-ve-TE-rem

   and before
2. clause🔊 תְּנוּ֩ לַיהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֤ם כָּבוֹד֙ בְּטֶ֣רֶם יַחְשִׁ֔ךְ וּבְטֶ֛רֶם יִֽתְנַגְּפ֥וּ רַגְלֵיכֶ֖ם עַל־הָ֣רֵי נָ֑שֶׁף

   te-NU la-Ye-ho-VAH e-lo-HE-khem ka-VOD be-TE-rem ya-kh-SHIKH u-ve-TE-rem yit-na-ge-FU rag-le-KHEM al-ha-RE NA-shef

   give to the LORD your God glory before he brings darkness and before they stumble your feet on the mountains of twilight
3. sentence🔊 תְּנוּ֩ לַיהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֤ם כָּבוֹד֙ בְּטֶ֣רֶם יַחְשִׁ֔ךְ וּבְטֶ֛רֶם יִֽתְנַגְּפ֥וּ רַגְלֵיכֶ֖ם עַל־הָ֣רֵי נָ֑שֶׁף וְקִוִּיתֶ֤ם לְאוֹר֙ וְשָׂמָ֣הּ לְצַלְמָ֔וֶת ישית וְשִׁ֖ית לַעֲרָפֶֽל׃

   te-NU la-Ye-ho-VAH e-lo-HE-khem ka-VOD be-TE-rem ya-kh-SHIKH u-ve-TE-rem yit-na-ge-FU rag-le-KHEM al-ha-RE NA-shef ve-ki-vi-TEM le-OR ve-sa-MAH le-tsal-MA-vet ya-SHIT ve-SHIT la-a-ra-FEL

   give to the LORD your God glory before he brings darkness and before they stumble your feet on the mountains of twilight and you look for for light and he makes it into deep darkness he sets and he makes into gloom

Exegesis

The two temporal clauses—bə-TE-rem yakh-SHIKH {בְּטֶרֶם יַחְשִׁיךְ | bə-te-rem yaḥ-šîḵ} “before He brings darkness” and ū-bə-TE-rem yit-nag-GE-fu rag-lê-khem ʿal ha-rê nā-šef {וּבְטֶרֶם יִתְנַגְּפוּ רַגְלֵיכֶם עַל־הָרֵי נָשֶׁף | ū-bə-te-rem yit-nag-gə-fū rag-lê-khem ʿal ha-rê nā-šef} “and before your feet stumble on the mountains of twilight”—establish urgency as divine action and human peril converge.