φρεσίν

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 φρεσίν

   phre-SIN

   minds
2. sentence🔊 Ἀδελφοί μὴ παιδία γίνεσθε ταῖς φρεσίν ἀλλὰ τῇ κακίᾳ νηπιάζετε ταῖς δὲ φρεσὶν τέλειοι γίνεσθε

   a-del-PHOI MÊ pai-di-A GI-nes-the tais phre-SIN al-LA têi ka-KI-a nê-pi-A-dze-te tais de phre-SIN TE-lei-oi GI-nes-the

   Brothers not children be in the minds but in the evil be infants in the but minds mature be

Exegesis

The dative phrase tais phresin {ταῖς φρεσίν | taîs phresín} specifies the sphere of this childishness as the realm of thought and understanding, with the dative indicating domain.

The final segment, tais de phresin {ταῖς δὲ φρεσὶν | taîs dè phresìn} reintroduces the sphere of the mind with a contrastive de {δὲ | dè}, setting mental life over against moral evil, and culminates in the parallel imperative phrase teleioi ginesthe {τέλειοι γίνεσθε | téleioi gínesthe}. Here teleioi functions as a predicate adjective meaning “mature” or “fully developed,” paired again with ginesthe to express an ongoing pursuit of growth. The Greek parallelism—negative command about the mind, positive command about evil, and then a renewed positive command about the mind—creates a chiastic tension between mental maturity and moral naivety, which the translation mirrors by repeating “in your understanding / in your thinking” and “be infants / be mature.”