«لَا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا ... وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا»
Worship none except Allah, show kindness to parents, and speak well to people. (Al-Baqarah 2:83)
Lā taʿbudūna has declarative morphology but serves as a prohibition within the covenant, whereas wa-qūlū is an explicit command. Their outward forms differ, but both bind the audience to action.
The intervening expression about parents continues the covenant’s moral directives, giving the series a coherent religious and ethical purpose.