| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is structured as two conditional protases followed by a single apodosis. The first protasis, kai ean echō prophēteian kai eidō ta mystēria panta kai pasan tēn gnōsin {καὶ ἐὰν ἔχω προφητείαν καὶ εἰδῶ τὰ μυστήρια πάντα καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γνῶσιν | kaì eàn échō prophēteían kaì eidō̂ tá mustḗria pánta kaì pâsan tḕn gnō̂sin}, chains together three objects of the verb echō, building a picture of comprehensive spiritual understanding. The second protasis, kai ean echō pasan tēn pistin {καὶ ἐὰν ἔχω πᾶσαν τὴν πίστιν | kaì eàn échō pâsan tḕn pístin}, intensifies the hypothetical scenario by adding “all faith,” which is then qualified by the result clause introduced by hōste {ὥστε | hṓste}. The construction hōste orē methistanai {ὥστε ὄρη μεθιστάναι | hṓste órē methistánai} uses hōste with the infinitive to express result, here a hyperbolic image of faith powerful enough to move mountains. The repeated echō {ἔχω | échō} and coordinating kai {καί | kaí} create a rhythmic crescendo of spiritual capacities. This entire accumulation is sharply countered by agapēn de mē echō {ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω | agápēn dè mḕ échō}, where the contrastive de and the negative mē with the subjunctive introduce the possibility of lacking love. The apodosis outhen eimi {οὐθέν εἰμι | outhén eimí} places the indefinite pronoun outhen in the predicate position, expressing total nullification of the speaker’s significance without love. In translation, the distinct “if” clauses and the coordinating “and” are preserved to reflect the piling-up effect, while “so as to move mountains” renders the hōste + infinitive result clause in clear, idiomatic English. |