| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence is composed of two parallel clauses, each built on a substantival participle with the article: ho lalon {ὁ λαλῶν | ho la-lôn} “the one speaking” and ho de propheteuon {ὁ δὲ προφητεύων | ho de pro-phē-teú-ōn} “but the one prophesying.” Each participial subject is followed by its object and the finite verb oikodomei {οἰκοδομεῖ | oi-ko-do-meî} “builds up,” creating a clear subject–object–verb pattern in both halves. The dative glosse {γλώσσῃ | glṓs-sē} functions as a dative of means, “by means of a tongue,” while the reflexive heauton {ἑαυτὸν | he-au-tón} marks that the benefit of the first action returns to the speaker. In contrast, the second clause replaces the reflexive object with ekklesian {ἐκκλησίαν | ek-klē-sí-an} “church, assembly,” shifting the focus from individual to community. The conjunction de {δὲ | de} introduces a mild adversative, highlighting contrast rather than absolute opposition. In translation, the parallelism is preserved by repeating “the one who … builds up …,” while the metaphor of “building up” is retained to reflect the imagery of edification present in both clauses. |