| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew opens with the conditional conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} ‘if/when’, introducing a legal protasis. The passive Nifal imperfect yimmatse {יִמָּצֵא | yim·mä·ṣēʾ} ‘is found’ frames a hypothetical scenario. The locative beqirbekha {בְּקִרְבְּךָ | bə·qir·bĕ·ḵāʾ} ‘in your midst’ and the construct chain be’echad she’areikha {בְּאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ | bə·ʾā·ḥăḏ šə·ʿā·rə·yĕ·ḵāʾ} ‘in one of your gates’ set the social and spatial context. A relative clause introduced by asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾă·šer} ‘which’ links to the participle noten {נוֹתֵן | nō·ṯēn} ‘giving’, attributing ongoing divine provision. The subject ‘a man or a woman’ then appears in a second relative clause asher ya’aseh et-hara {אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אֶת־הָרַע | ʾă·šer yaʿ·śēʾ ʾet-hā·raʿ} ‘who does the evil’, which is framed by be’einei Yehovah Eloheikha {בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה־אֱלֹהֶיךָ | bə·ʿê·nê yə·hō·wāh-ʾĕ·lō·hê·ḵāʾ} ‘in the eyes of the LORD your God’, shifting judgment to the divine perspective. The clause concludes with the infinitive la’avor berito {לַעֲבֹר בְּרִיתוֹ | la·ʿă·bôr bə·rît·ô} ‘to transgress his covenant’, emphasizing a legal breach. English word order is adjusted for clarity while retaining the hypotactic structure and legal formality. |