Hebrew Form Guide

יָשֽׁוּבוּ׃ (yā·šū·ḇū) in Psalms 51:13: Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural

יָשֽׁוּבוּ׃ (yā·šū·ḇū) in Psalms 51:13

Source Word

יָשֽׁוּבוּ׃ yā·šū·ḇū Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural

The BSB+ row for Psalms 51:13 links the English rendering "will return" with יָשֽׁוּבוּ׃, Strong's H7725, and the parsing label V-Qal-Imperf-3mp.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

The form helps readers hear the hoped-for movement from restored testimony to sinners returning to God. It keeps the return tied to God's ways and the psalm's restoration context.

How To Communicate It

Use the form to ask who returns and to whom. The clause answers that sinners return to God after the speaker teaches God's ways.

What Not To Say

  • Grammar should serve context, not override it.
  • Do not make the imperfect 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.

What Does The Label Mean?

Profile

Hebrew-verb

Part of Speech

Verb

Form Label

Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural

Stem

Qal

Aspect

Imperfect

Person

Third person

Gender

Masculine

Number

Plural

Aspect Note

The imperfect form presents the action as unfolding, expected, desired, or modal in context; Psalms 51:13 determines how that force is heard.

Verse Role

This form carries the BSB rendering "will return" within Psalms 51:13. Psalm 51 gives language for confession, cleansing, restoration, renewed joy, and renewed praise before God.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

The action rendered "will return" in Psalms 51:13

Governed By

The clause follows the speaker's stated intent to teach transgressors God's ways.

Role In The Phrase

It names the expected response of sinners turning back to God after the restored speaker teaches God's ways.

What It Is Not Doing

The form does not by itself guarantee a mechanical result from teaching, settle every use of H7725, or reduce repentance to grammar alone.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The form carries Psalm 51's outward-facing restoration result: sinners returning to God.

Syntax Profile

Plural imperfect predicate for sinners. states the expected response to restored testimony. Attached to the return of sinners to God. Governed by the preceding statement about teaching transgressors God's ways. The plural form aligns with sinners as the local subject.

Reader Question

Who returns to God in this clause? Sinners are pictured as returning to God after the speaker teaches God's ways.

Translation Effect

Direct: The Qal imperfect directly supports the English rendering "will return."

Where Caution Is Needed

The imperfect can express expected result in context; it should not be isolated as a mechanical guarantee. The return is governed by the psalm's repentance and restoration movement, not by the grammar label alone.

Fallacies To Avoid

Imperfect always means certain future prediction: The imperfect is heard through Psalm 51:13's expected-response context. Qal means simple: Qal names the stem; it does not make repentance simple or automatic.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

The BSB+ row for Psalms 51:13 links the English rendering "will return" with יָשֽׁוּבוּ׃, Strong's H7725, and the parsing label V-Qal-Imperf-3mp.

Lexical Identity

H7725 is represented here by the lemma שׁוּב. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "will return" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.

Grammar In Context

Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural functions as the predicate for sinners in Psalms 51:13. The imperfect fits the expected response after the speaker's restored teaching of God's ways.

Passage Meaning

Psalm 51 gives language for confession, cleansing, restoration, renewed joy, and renewed praise before God.

Canonical Fit

The form fits Scripture's language of confession, mercy, cleansing, restored joy, and renewed obedience.

Communication Use

When teaching Psalms 51:13, use this form to show the connection between restored witness and sinners returning to God, while avoiding a mechanical view of ministry results.

Do Not Derive

Do not make the imperfect form alone guarantee the result or make Qal mean the return is simple. The form clarifies the expected movement in this clause.