γὰρ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 γὰρ

   gar

   for
2. sentence🔊 οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς διὰ τῆς γλώσσης ἐὰν μὴ εὔσημον λόγον δῶτε πῶς γνωσθήσεται τὸ λαλούμενον ἔσεσθε γὰρ εἰς ἀέρα λαλοῦντες

   HOU-tōs KAI hy-MEIS di-A tês GLŌS-sēs e-AN mê EU-sē-mon LO-gon DŌ-te pōs gnō-STHÊ-se-tai to la-LOU-me-non E-ses-the gar eis a-E-ra la-LOUN-tes

   thus also you through the tongue if not clear word you give how will be known the what is spoken you will be for into air speaking

Exegesis

The explanatory clause introduced by gar, esesthe gar eis aera lalountes {ἔσεσθε γὰρ εἰς ἀέρα λαλοῦντες | é-se-sthe gár eis a-é-ra la-loûn-tes}, uses a periphrastic sense (“you will be … speaking”) to depict the result of unintelligible speech: it is speech directed “into the air,” an idiomatic metaphor for futility or ineffectiveness. In translation, the conditional structure is preserved with “if … how will,” and the metaphor is retained while making explicit its sense of uselessness.