| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative vav in va'ani {וַאֲנִי | vaʾanî} ‘and I’ foregrounds the divine speaker. The verb etten {אֶתֵּן | ʾettēn} ‘I will set’ conveys volitional intent. The particle ʾet marks the direct object ʾet-pānāy {אֶת־פָּנַי | ʾet-pānāy} ‘my face’, which with bāʾîš {בָּאִישׁ | bāʾîš} ‘against the man’ expresses determined opposition. The clause wə-hikrattî {וְהִכְרַתִּי | wəhikrattî} ‘and I will cut off’ links the divine decree to its effect: ʾôtô {אֹתוֹ | ʾôtô} ‘him’ from mikkerev ʿammô {מִקֶּרֶב עַמּוֹ | miqqerēḇ ʿammô} ‘from the midst of his people’. The conjunction kî {כִּי | kî} introduces the rationale in which nāṯān {נָתַן | nāṯān} ‘he gave’ with min-zarʿô {מִזַּרְעוֹ | min-zarʿô} ‘from his offspring’ to la-mōleḵ {לַמֹּלֶךְ | la-mōleḵ} ‘to Molekh’ specifies the idolatrous act. The purpose clause introduced by lə-maʿăn {לְמַ֗עַן | lə-maʿăn} ‘in order to’ uses the infinitives ṭammeʾ {טַמֵּא | ṭammeʾ} ‘to defile’ and wə-lə-ḥallēl {וּלְחַלֵּ֖ל | wə-lə-ḥallēl} ‘to profane’, applying to ʾet-miqdāšî {אֶת־מִקְדָּשִׁי | ʾet-miqdāšî} ‘my sanctuary’ and ʾet-šēm qōdešî {אֶת־שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי | ʾet-šēm qōdešî} ‘my holy name’. This structure underscores divine resolve and the seriousness of profaning what is sacred. |