מְצַוְּךָ֛ (mə·ṣaw·wə·ḵā) in Deuteronomy 6:6: Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
מְצַוְּךָ֛ (mə·ṣaw·wə·ḵā) in Deuteronomy 6:6
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Deuteronomy 6:6 links the English rendering "am commanding you" with מְצַוְּךָ֛, Strong's H6680, and the parsing label V-Piel-Prtcpl-msc | 2ms.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form helps identify which words must be upon the heart: the words being commanded to the hearer today. It strengthens the verse's connection between command and inward reception.
How To Communicate It
Explain this as a participial modifier: "which I am commanding you." That clarifies which words are in view while keeping the heart emphasis rooted in the sentence.
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not treat the attached suffix as a full theology of the participant; let the verse identify the relationship.
- Do not make the participle prove more about duration or habit than the sentence supports.
- Do not use the stem label by itself to settle a theological claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Piel
Participle
Not marked
Masculine
Singular
Construct
Second person masculine singular
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
The participle describes the actor or action in the sentence, giving the line a concrete, ongoing, or characteristic force in context.
This form carries the BSB rendering "am commanding you" within Deuteronomy 6:6. Deuteronomy 6 presses covenant instruction into ordinary life: loving the Lord, remembering redemption, teaching the next generation, and walking in obedience.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The words rendered "am commanding you" in Deuteronomy 6:6
The participial phrase identifies the words that are to be upon the hearer's heart.
It marks these words as the commandments being addressed to the hearer today.
It does not make the participle prove uninterrupted duration by itself, and it does not make the masculine singular address exclude the wider covenant people being taught.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form identifies the commanded words that Deuteronomy 6:6 says must be upon the heart.
Participial modifier with second-person suffix. identifies the words as those being commanded to the hearer today. Attached to the words that must be upon the heart. Governed by the sentence identifying "these words" in Deuteronomy 6:6. The participle functions like a relative modifier; the whole sentence supplies the heart-level emphasis.
Which words are to be upon the heart? They are the words being commanded to the hearer today.
Direct: The participial form and suffix directly support the English rendering "am commanding you."
The participle supports the English progressive rendering in context, but it should not be turned into a mechanical rule about continuous action. The masculine singular suffix marks the addressed hearer grammatically; the passage immediately moves into household and generational instruction.
Participle always proves continuous action: The participle contributes to the rendering, but duration or ongoing force must be read from the sentence context. Piel always means intensive: Piel identifies the stem, not a guaranteed intensity claim in every occurrence.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Deuteronomy 6:6 links the English rendering "am commanding you" with מְצַוְּךָ֛, Strong's H6680, and the parsing label V-Piel-Prtcpl-msc | 2ms.
H6680 is represented here by the lemma צָוָה. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "am commanding you" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.
The Piel participle with second-person suffix modifies "these words" in Deuteronomy 6:6. It identifies the words as the ones being commanded to the hearer today, and the verse then says they must be upon the heart.
Deuteronomy 6 presses covenant instruction into ordinary life: loving the Lord, remembering redemption, teaching the next generation, and walking in obedience.
The form fits Deuteronomy's covenant pattern: redemption is remembered, the command is heard, and obedience is taught as life before the Lord.
When teaching Deuteronomy 6:6, connect the participial phrase to "these words" so readers see that the commanded words are not abstract; they are to be kept upon the heart.
Do not derive a full word study, grammar doctrine, or heart theology from V-Piel-Prtcpl-msc | 2ms alone. The form identifies the occurrence-level modifying phrase.