| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the articular noun phrase he agape {Ἡ ἀγάπη | Hē agápē} ‘the love’, where the definite article and noun in the nominative feminine singular serve as the emphatic subject. This is followed by the adverb oudepote {οὐδέποτε | oudépote} ‘never’ and the present active indicative piptei {πίπτει | píptēi} ‘falls’, asserting love’s unbreakable constancy. A correlative series introduced by the repeated conjunction eite {εἴτε | eíte} ‘whether’ presents three spiritual gifts—propheteiai {προφητεῖαι | prophēteîai} ‘prophecies’, glossai {γλῶσσαι | glôssai} ‘tongues’, and gnosis {γνῶσις | gnôsis} ‘knowledge’—each paired with a future verb: the passive katargethesontai {καταργηθήσονται | katargēthḗsontai} ‘will be rendered inactive’, the middle pausontai {παύσονται | paúsontai} ‘will come to an end’, and the passive katargethesetai {καταργηθήσεται | katargēthḗsetai} ‘will be taken out of operation’. The postpositive conjunction de {δὲ | dè} after the first eite contrasts the enduring nature of love with the temporary operation of these gifts. The translation replicates this correlative and contrasting structure to emphasize both the inevitable cessation of gifts and the permanence of love. |