Proverbs 27:2:5Prov.27.2.W5TAB
וְאַל־שְׂפָתֶֽיךָ׃
vealsefatekha
“and not your lips”
- Transliteration
- ve-AL-se-fa-TE-kha
- Extended
- veh-AHL-seh-faa-TEH-khaa
- IPA
- /vəʔal.śəfaːˈtɛxaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- and not your lips
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Aleph | silent — a glottal stop; holds vowel points | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Shin | shin with right dot; sin with left dot | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| Pe | p with dagesh; f without | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Tav | t as in top | |
| Seghol | short 'eh' as in met | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Kaf Sofit | final form of Kaf — at word end | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' |
Tap any letter to hear its name and sound
Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
ve-AL-se-fa-TE-kha
- clause
na-khe-RI ve-AL-se-fa-TE-kha
- sentence
ye-hal-LEL-kha ZAR ve-LO-PI-kha na-khe-RI ve-AL-se-fa-TE-kha
Exegesis
A similar pattern occurs with nokhri {נָכְרִי | nā-ḵrī} ‘outsider’, ve-al {וְאַל | və-ʾal} ‘and not’, and sefataykha {שְׂפָתֶיךָ | sə-pha-tē-kha} ‘your lips’. These paired jussive–prohibitive constructions form a chiastic parallelism that underscores prioritizing external commendation over self-praise, a hallmark of Hebrew wisdom rhetoric.
In context — Proverbs 27:2
Let someone else speak your praise, and not your own mouth; let a foreigner say it, and not your own lips.
About this coordinate
Proverbs 27:2:5 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 5 of Proverbs 27:2, so the Hebrew word וְאַל־שְׂפָתֶֽיךָ׃ (vealsefatekha) 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 Prov.27.2.W5, which extends further down to each syllable (Prov.27.2.W5.S1) and character.