| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with lo {לֹֽא־ | lōʼ} ‘not’ paired with the Niphal imperfect yimmatse {יִמָּצֵ֣א | yim-maṣ-’ē} ‘will be found,’ forming an absolute prohibition. The preposition bekha {בְךָ֔ | bə-khā} ‘among you’ designates the community as the scope. A Hiphil participle maavir {מַעֲבִ֥יר | ma-‘a-vîr} ‘one who causes to pass’ introduces forbidden activity, specifying child sacrifice in fire with beno u bitto baesh {בְּנֽוֹ־וּבִתּ֖וֹ בָּאֵ֑שׁ | his son or his daughter in the fire}. Successive participles kosem {קֹסֵ֣ם | qō-sēm}, meonen {מְעוֹנֵ֥ן | mə-‘ō-nēn}, menahesh {וּמְנַחֵ֖שׁ | ū-mə-na-ḥēš}, and mekhashef {וּמְכַשֵּֽׁף | ū-mə-khaš-šēp̄} are linked by conjunctions to catalogue illicit practices. The coordination reflects a legal enumeration designed to proscribe various forms of occult activity. |