Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips. The transitional verse before the feast calendar closes the legal section with a call to comprehensive obedience and covenant exclusivity. The prohibition on invoking other gods' names extends even to casual speech: do not let them be heard on your lips. The concern is not only formal worship but the everyday use of language that embeds other deities in normal conversation. Hosea 2:17 promises a day when the names of the Baals will no longer be invoked. Philippians 4:8 says whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right — think about such things. The formation of speech is the formation of the heart, and the covenant law addresses both.

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