יָלַע yâlaʻ — to blurt or utter inconsiderately
Translated in the KJV as devour.
a primitive root; to blurt or utter inconsiderately.
yâlaʻ in each stem
Qal (Pa'al)
Simple · active — the plain action; the subject does it
Imperfect (yiqtol) 1
יָ֣לַע Prov 20:25 Imperfect (yiqtol), 3rd person masculine singular
It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.
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 ›