בְּדָבְרֶ֗ךָ (bə·ḏā·ḇə·re·ḵā) in Psalms 51:4: Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | second person masculine singular
בְּדָבְרֶ֗ךָ (bə·ḏā·ḇə·re·ḵā) in Psalms 51:4
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Psalms 51:4 links the English rendering "when You speak" with בְּדָבְרֶ֗ךָ, Strong's H1696, and the parsing label Prep-b | V-Qal-Inf | 2ms.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
David's confession places God's speech and judgment together. The form marks "when You speak" as part of God's vindication, while the passage supplies the theological weight.
How To Communicate It
Explain this as a preposition plus infinitive construct with an attached second-person suffix: "in" or "when Your speaking." That helps readers hear why the English says "when You speak" without making the form carry more than Psalm 51:4 says.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not make the inf label prove more than the sentence supports.
- Do not use the stem label by itself to settle a theological claim.
- Do not treat this occurrence as a complete word study for the whole Hebrew lemma.
- Do not treat the attached suffix as a full theology of the participant; let the verse identify the relationship.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | second person masculine singular
Bet preposition
Second person masculine singular
Qal
Inf
Not marked
Not marked
Not marked
The morphology identifies the form, but Psalms 51:4 supplies the sentence role and theological meaning.
This form carries the BSB rendering "when You speak" within Psalms 51:4. Psalm 51 gives language for confession, cleansing, restoration, renewed joy, and renewed praise before God.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The prepositional infinitive phrase rendered "when You speak" in Psalms 51:4
The phrase belongs to David's statement that God is right in His words and blameless in His judgment.
It forms a temporal or circumstantial phrase, literally close to "in Your speaking," and identifies God as the one whose speech vindicates His judgment.
It does not turn the infinitive into a separate main verb, and it does not prove a doctrine of divine speech apart from the verse's confession and judgment context.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form connects God's speech to the verse's confession that God is right in His judgment.
Prepositional infinitive phrase. temporal or circumstantial relation supporting the English "when You speak". Attached to God's speaking in Psalm 51:4. Governed by the clause about God being proved right and blameless. The surrounding confession and judgment language decides the force of the phrase.
When is God shown to be right in this line? The form points to God's own speaking, so the English phrase "when You speak" belongs inside the verse's confession.
Direct: The bet preposition with the infinitive construct and second-person suffix directly supports the English temporal phrase "when You speak."
A bet preposition with an infinitive can carry a temporal or circumstantial force; Psalm 51:4 decides how it should be heard. The second-person suffix identifies God as the speaker in the phrase, but it is not a stand-alone theological claim about God.
Infinitive construct proves a separate doctrine: The infinitive phrase supports the clause, but the verse supplies the doctrine of confession and divine judgment. Qal means simple action: Qal names the stem here; context, lexeme, and syntax explain the force.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Psalms 51:4 links the English rendering "when You speak" with בְּדָבְרֶ֗ךָ, Strong's H1696, and the parsing label Prep-b | V-Qal-Inf | 2ms.
H1696 is represented here by the lemma דָבַר. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "when You speak" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.
The bet-prefixed infinitive construct with a second-person suffix ties the act of speaking to God's vindication in Psalms 51:4; the verse makes God the speaker and judgment the setting.
Psalm 51 gives language for confession, cleansing, restoration, renewed joy, and renewed praise before God.
The form fits Scripture's pattern of repentance, mercy, cleansing, and restored worship before the Lord.
When teaching Psalms 51:4, connect the bet preposition, infinitive construct, and attached suffix to the English "when You speak" inside the confession of God's right judgment.
Do not derive a full word study, grammar doctrine, or passage theology from Prep-b | V-Qal-Inf | 2ms alone. The form identifies the occurrence-level phrase, not the whole doctrine.