Jeremiah 21:8:9Jer.21.8.W9TAB
לִפְנֵיכֶ֔ם
lifnekhem
“before you”
- Transliteration
- lif-ne-KHEM
- Extended
- lihf-neh-KHEM
- IPA
- /lifnɛˈxɛm/
Meaning by language
- English
- before you
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Hireq | 'ee' as in machine | |
| Pe | p with dagesh; f without | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Nun | n as in new | |
| Tsere | long 'ey' as in they | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Kaf | k with dagesh; kh without | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Mem Sofit | final form of Mem — at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
lif-ne-KHEM
- clause
hin-NE no-TEN lif-ne-KHEM et-DE-rekh ha-kha-YIM ve-et-DE-rekh ha-MA-vet
- sentence
ve-EL-ha-AM ha-ZE to-MAR KO a-MAR ye-ho-VAH hin-NE no-TEN lif-ne-KHEM et-DE-rekh ha-kha-YIM ve-et-DE-rekh ha-MA-vet
Exegesis
The frame lif-nei-kem {לִפְנֵיכֶ֔ם | li-p̄-nê-kem} “before you” links to the paired accusative de-rekh ha-cha-yim we-et de-rekh ha-ma-vet {דֶּ֥רֶךְ הַחַיִּ֖ים וְאֶת־דֶּ֥רֶךְ הַמָּֽוֶת | dĕ-reḵ ha-ḥai-yîm wə-ʾet dĕ-reḵ ham-mā-weṯ}, establishing a binary contrast between life and death. The English rendering retains the Hebrew parallel structure, adjusting word order for clarity.
Root and etymology
Rootpe–nun–he
“face, presence”
In context — Jeremiah 21:8
And you shall say to this people, “Thus says the LORD : Look, I am placing before you the way of life and the way of death .”
About this coordinate
Jeremiah 21:8:9 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 9 of Jeremiah 21:8, so the Hebrew word לִפְנֵיכֶ֔ם (lifnekhem) can be cited, linked and studied at exactly this position rather than somewhere in the verse. In the Biblical Knowledge Coordinate System the same position is written Jer.21.8.W9, which extends further down to each syllable (Jer.21.8.W9.S1) and character.