| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with nephesh {הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ | han-ne-feš} ‘soul’ modified by the participle ha-chote-et {הַחֹטֵ֖את | ha-ḥō-tēʾt} ‘one who sins’ and linked by the pronoun hi {הִ֣יא | hîʾ} ‘it’ before the Qal imperfect tamut {תָמ֑וּת | tā-mûṯ} ‘shall die’ to express the immediate consequence of sin. It then presents two chiastically arranged clauses: ben {בֵּ֞ן | bēn} ‘son’ with lo-yissa {לֹא־יִשָּׂא | lōʾ-yiś-śā} ‘shall not bear’ plus ba-avon {בַּעֲוֺן | ba-ʿă-vōn} ‘because of the iniquity’ of ha-av {הָאָ֗ב | hā-ʾāv} ‘the father’, followed by ve-av {וְאָב֙ | wə-ʾāv} ‘and the father’ with lo {לֹ֤א | lōʾ} ‘not’ + yissa {יִשָּׂא֙ | yiś-śā} ‘shall bear’ + ba-avon {בַּעֲוֺן | ba-ʿă-vōn} ‘because of the iniquity’ of ha-ben {הַבֵּ֔ן | hab-bēn} ‘the son’. The final couplet mirrors this structure with tsidqat {צִדְקַ֤ת | tsiḏ-qaṯ} ‘righteousness of’ + ha-tsaddiq {הַצַּדִּיק֙ | ha-ṣad-dîq} ‘the righteous one’, and ve-rishat {וְרִשְׁעַ֥ת | wə-riš-ʿaṯ} ‘and wickedness of’ + ha-rasha {הָרָשָׁ֖ע | hā-rā-šāʿ} ‘the wicked one’, each followed by tihyeh {תִּֽהְיֶ֔ה | tih-yeh} ‘shall be’ and the pronominal suffix in a-lav {עָלָ֥יו | ʿā-lāw} ‘upon him’. The initial VSO order and the parallel chiastic structure underscore individual moral accountability. |