| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conditional protasis introduced by ei {εἰ | ei} ‘if’ and the connective de {δὲ | dé} ‘but’, which links to the prior argument. The emphatic placement of the subject Christos {Χριστὸς | Khri-stós} ‘Messiah’ before the verb highlights His central role. The verb phrase ouk egēgertai {οὐκ ἐγήγερται | ouk egḗ-ger-tai} ‘has not been raised’ is perfect passive indicative, denying a completed event whose effects would persist. The apodosis offers two parallel results: the adjective mataia {ματαία | ma-taí-a} ‘vain’ precedes the noun phrase hē pistis hymōn {ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν | hē pís-tis hū-môn} ‘your faith’, underscoring the futility of trust without resurrection; and the clause eti este en tais hamartiais hymōn {ἔτι ἐστὲ ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν | é-ti es-té en taîs ha-mar-tí-ais hū-môn} uses the adverb é-ti ‘still’ with the prepositional construction en + dative to depict an ongoing state under sin. |