| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the particle lo {לֹא | lō} and the Qal imperfect tishma {תִשְׁמַע | tišmā‘} to express a prohibitive command. The objects are formed by the prepositional construct diḇrê hanāvîʾ {דִּבְרֵי הַנָּבִיא | diḇrê hannāvîʾ} ‘words of the prophet’ and parallel ʾel-ḥōlēm haḥălômōṯ {אֶל־חֹלֵם הַחֲלוֹמוֹת | ʾel-ḥōlēm haḥălômōṯ} ‘to the dreamer of dreams’, highlighting alternative sources of false prophecy. The conjunction kî {כִּי | kî} introduces the causal clause in which the Piel participle mēnās-sēh {מְנַסֶּה | mēnās-sēh} ‘testing’ predicates Yahweh ʾĕ-lō-hê-khem {יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם | Yə-hō-wāh ʾĕ-lō-hê-khem}, framing divine evaluation. The infinitive lā-da-‘at {לָדַעַת | lā-da-‘at} conveys purpose ‘to learn’, further defined by the interrogative ha-ye-śe-kem {הֲיֶשְׁכֶם | ha-ye-śe-kem} ‘whether you are’ plus the participle ʾō-hāv-îm {אֹהֲבִים | ʾō-hāv-îm} indicating the loyalty criterion. The double et {אֶת | ʾet} before Yahweh ʾĕ-lō-hê-khem intensifies the object of devotion, and the paired prepositional phrases bə-khol-le-vāv-khem {בְּכָל־לְבַבְכֶם | bə-khol-le-vāv-khem} and u-ve-khol-naf-shê-khem {וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁכֶם | u-ve-khol-naf-shê-khem} echo covenantal language of total commitment. The English rendering mirrors this structure via the prohibitive main clause, coordinated objects, causal-purpose syntax, and parallel devotion phrases. |