שָׂרַט sâraṭ — to gash
Translated in the KJV as cut in pieces, make [cuttings] pieces.
a primitive root; to gash.
sâraṭ in each stem
Qal (Pa'al)
Imperfect (yiqtol) 1Infinitive absolute 1
They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
Niph'al
Imperfect (yiqtol) 1
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
What the stems mean
A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›