Hebrew word · H994

בִּי

bi

please

A particle used only in speech to a superior, nearly always followed at once by "my lord" (ʾădōnî, or ʾădōnāy for God). It opens a humble request, an apology, or a respectful objection: "pardon me," "if it please," "by your leave." Where it comes from is uncertain.

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) if it please, pray excuse me, excuse me please

1a) used to introduce an entreaty or request

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 4:13

Range of meaning

A particle used only in speech to a superior, nearly always followed at once by "my lord" (ʾădōnî, or ʾădōnāy for God). It opens a humble request, an apology, or a respectful objection: "pardon me," "if it please," "by your leave." Where it comes from is uncertain. One common view reads it as "on me [be it], my lord" (compare 1 Samuel 25:24, where Abigail says "on me, my lord, be the guilt"). BDB tentatively connects it to a word for "request." On either view it is a formula of deference.

Against the English

Most English versions say "Please" (BSB) or "Oh" (ESV, WEB), or use the archaic "O" (KJV). NIV's "Pardon your servant" comes closest to its tone. A plain "please" sounds casual and loses the courtly self-lowering.

How it drifted

English has no single particle for this, so translators reach for the weakest available word.

Used elsewhere in the period

Found about a dozen times: Judah before the Egyptian vizier (Gen 43:20; 44:18), Aaron interceding for Miriam (Num 12:11), Joshua after Ai (Josh 7:8), Gideon objecting to the angel (Judg 6:13, 15), Manoah (Judg 13:8), Hannah to Eli (1 Sam 1:26), Abigail to David (1 Sam 25:24), the two women before Solomon (1 Kgs 3:17, 26). In every case someone lower in rank speaks up to someone higher.

From the study of Exodus 4:10

Range of meaning

A particle of polite request, used only when speaking up to a superior: 'please', 'pardon me', 'if it please my lord'. It is always followed by 'my lord' (adoni) or 'my Lord' (Adonai). Its origin is unclear. BDB and HALOT note two proposals: a shortened form of a word meaning 'request', or literally 'on me' (that is, 'let the fault be on me')

Against the English

BSB and NASB-type versions say 'Please'. KJV and ESV say 'O/Oh, my Lord', which keeps the address but loses the apologetic tone. NIV turns it into 'Pardon your servant', which captures the deference well.

Used elsewhere in the period

Found about a dozen times, always before an awkward request or protest to someone of higher rank. Judah before Joseph (Gen 43:20; 44:18), Gideon to the angel (Judg 6:13, 15), Hannah to Eli (1 Sam 1:26), the prostitutes before Solomon (1 Kgs 3:17, 26). Moses uses it again in 4:13.

From the study of Judges 6:13

Range of meaning

bî is a fixed word of polite address, always followed by 'my lord'. It means roughly 'excuse me' or 'please, if I may', and introduces a request, plea or objection to someone of higher rank. Where it comes from is debated: 'on me (be it)', meaning 'let the blame fall on me', or a word related to 'request'. ʾĂdōnî ('my lord') is how you address a human superior: a master, king, official or respected stranger. The Masoretes, the medieval scribes who added vowels to the Hebrew text, wrote the different form ʾădōnāy when the one addressed is God.

Against the English

KJV and BSB print 'my Lord' with a capital L, which suggests Gideon knows he is addressing God. NIV and WEB use lower-case 'lord', NLT has 'Sir', and those are closer to the vowels of the Hebrew text.

How it drifted

Translators who capitalize are probably reading the verse in light of v.14 ('the LORD turned to him') or of later Christian readings of the 'angel of the LORD'. The Hebrew vowels in v.13 point the other way.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same formula appears in Judah's plea to Joseph (Gen 43:20; 44:18) and Hannah's address to Eli (1 Sam 1:26), both to humans. Moses objects to God with bî ʾădōnāy, the divine form (Exod 4:10, 13), and so does Manoah (Judg 13:8). In Judg 6:15, right after 'Yahweh turned to him', the text switches to bî ʾădōnāy.

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 43:20 בִּ֣י pardon us

    “Please, sir,” they said, “we really did come down here the first time to buy food.

  2. Genesis 44:18 בִּ֣י pardon me

    Then Judah approached Joseph and said, “Sir, please let your servant speak personally to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh himself.

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 4:10 בִּ֣י pardon me

    “Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”

    Here: A polite word for opening a request or an objection to a superior: something like 'With respect, my lord…' or 'Excuse me, my lord…'. Moses is about to push back, so he starts with courtesy.

  2. Exodus 4:13 בִּ֣י pardon me

    But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”

    Here: A formal word used by someone of lower rank who is about to ask a superior for something or contradict him: roughly "by your leave" or "pardon me, my lord." Moses used the same opening in 4:10. It wraps a refusal in court manners.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 12:11 בִּ֣י pardon me

    and said to Moses, “My lord, please do not hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed.

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 7:8 בִּ֖י pardon me

    O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies?

Judges · 3

  1. Judges 6:13 בִּ֣י pardon me

    “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”

    Here: A polite word that opens a request or an objection to a superior: 'excuse me', 'with respect'. It softens what follows, which here is a blunt challenge.

  2. Judges 6:15 בִּ֣י pardon me

    “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”

    Here: A fixed polite formula used before a person of higher rank, said just before asking a favour or raising an objection. It means roughly 'excuse me, sir, but…'. It warns that a protest is coming.

  3. Judges 13:8 בִּ֣י pardon me

    Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, “Please, O Lord, let the man of God You sent us come to us again to teach us how to raise the boy who is to be born.”

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 1:26 בִּ֣י pardon me

    “Please, my lord,” said Hannah, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.

1 Kings · 2

  1. 1 Kings 3:17 בִּ֣י pardon me

    One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth while she was in the house.

  2. 1 Kings 3:26 בִּ֣י pardon me

    Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!”

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.