Exodus 20:6ExegesisTAB

Exodus 20 : 6 Covenant | Generations | Obedience
6. Linguistic Exegesis
The verse continues with the participle ve’oseh {וְעֹ֥֤שֶׂה | wə-‘ōśeh}, conveying God’s ongoing disposition. The noun chesed {חֶ֖֙סֶד֙ | ḥe-sed} serves as the direct object, balancing prior judgment with covenant mercy. The phrase la’alafim {לַאֲלָפִ֑֔ים | la-’ă-lā-p̄îm} functions adverbially to denote generational extent. The parallel participial clauses le’ohavai {לְאֹהֲבַ֖י | lə-’ō-ha-vay} and u-leshomrei mitsvotai {וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י מִצְוֺתָֽי | ū-lə-šōm-rê miṣ-wō-ṯāy} form synthetic parallelism, linking inner devotion with obedience. In translation, the Hebrew participles are rendered as finite verbs (“show,” “keep showing”) to preserve both durative aspect and readability.

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