Hi Paul. I think that sentence is grammatical. It's one of the use of sunjunctives which express a wish. If I change "be" to "is", the sentence changes the meaning. "God be with you" means "May God be with you", and does not mean the same thing as "God is with you" which is a declaration rather than a wish or prayer.
Other examples.
Praise be to God.
Peace be unto you.
God be thanked, etc.
What do you think? Please explain my sentence above.
Hi Paul. I think that sentence is grammatical. It's one of the use of sunjunctives which express a wish. If I change "be" to "is", the sentence changes the meaning. "God be with you" means "May God be with you", and does not mean the same thing as "God is with you" which is a declaration rather than a wish or prayer.
Other examples.
Praise be to God.
Peace be unto you.
God be thanked, etc.
What do you think? Please explain my sentence above.
I'm well aware of what the subjunctive is, thank you!
Your sentence is, I believe, a translation from an Arabic script taken from the Qur'an. Consequently, it does not yield a grammatically correct construction in English, as we simply do not use "be" in such a way. I suggest you stick to Standard English examples of the subjunctive, such as the ones you cite.
In view of the horrendous and distressing recent events in the Middle East, it is wholly inappropriate for quotations from the the Qur'an to be discussed here. I suggest you leave it at that.