But you shall worship the LORD your God and by him alone shall you swear oaths. You shall bow down to him and to him alone shall you sacrifice — the positive statement of the covenant command invokes exclusive devotion to the LORD. The phrase "by him alone shall you swear oaths" (וּבוֹ תִשָּׁמְרוּ, *u-vo tishmaru*, or variant "by him alone you shall swear") indicates that covenant loyalty requires absolute commitment and oath-taking exclusively by the LORD's name. The triple prohibition against bowing, serving, or sacrificing to other gods followed by the triple positive injunction—worship, swear by, bow to—establishes the totality of covenant requirement. Syncretism is fundamentally incompatible with covenant obedience.

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