| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conditional conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introducing a protasis. The Hiphil imperfect yesitkha {יְסִיתְךָ | yĕsît·ḵā} serves as the main verb of persuasion. Relational terms unfold through construct chains with akhikha ben immekha {אַחִיךָ בֶּן־אִמֶּךָ | ʾăḥîḵā bēn ʾimmekā} “your brother, the son of your mother,” and similarly for binkha {בִּנְךָ | binc·ḵā} and ṭitt·ḵā {בִּתְּךָ | ṭitt·ḵā}. The repeated disjunction o {אֹו | ʾō} emphasizes the range of close relatives. The relative clause introduced by asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾăšer} with kenafshekha {כְּנַפְשְׁךָ | kə·nap̄·šêḵā} “like your soul” highlights intimate closeness. The prepositional phrase baseter {בַּסֵּתֶר | ba·sê·ṯer} “in secret” marks covert action, and the infinitive lemor {לֵאמֹר | lē·môr} leads into the cohortative forms nēl·kā {נֵלְכָה | nēl·kā} and wə·na·ʿăḇ·dāh {וְנַעַבְדָה | wə·na·ʿăḇ·dāh}, indicating voluntary communal invitation. The phrase ʾĕ·lō·hîm ʾă·ḥê·rîm {אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים | ʾĕ·lō·hîm ʾă·ḥê·rîm} “other gods” governs the relative clause asher loyadata {אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדַעְתָּ | ʾăšer lō·yā·ḏaṯ·tā}, and the parallel personal and ancestral subjects attah vaavotekha {אַתָּה וַאֲבֹתֶיךָ | ʾattāh wā·ʾă·wō·ṯe·ḵā} underline both individual and generational unfamiliarity with these deities. |