| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the prohibitive particle lo {לֹא | lōʾ} governing the reflexive imperfect verb tishtakhaveh {תִשְׁתַּחְוֶה | tiš-taḥ-weh}, immediately reinforced by the coordinated clause ve-lo taavdem {וְלֹא תָעָבְדֵם | wə-lōʾ tā-ʿăv-dēm}, forming a hendiadys that stresses both cultic prostration and covenant service. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introduces the causal clause where anokhi {אָנֹכִי | ʾānōkhî} and the compound divine name Yahweh Eloheikha {יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ | Yəhōwāh ʾĕlōhē-khā} assert divine authority. The attributive el qanna {אֵל קַנָּא | ʾēl qan-nāʾ} conveys exclusive zeal. The participle poked {פֹּקֵד | pōqēḏ} functions as a judicial participle, linking to the construct chain avon avot {עָוֹן אָבוֹת | ʿāwōn ʾāvōt} that transfers ancestral guilt. The distributive ordinals al-shilleshim ve-al-ribbeim {עַל־שִׁלֵּשִׁים וְעַל־רִבְּעִים | ʿal-šillēšîm wə-ʿal-ribbēʿîm} define generational scope, finalized by le-son’ai {לְשׂוֹנְאָי | lə-sōnʾāy} limiting judgment to those who hate Me. In translation, the double prohibition is rendered with coordinated infinitives, ki yields “because,” and ordinals appear as “the third and fourth generations.” |