| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The causal conjunction epei {ἐπεὶ | e-peì} ‘since’ introduces the rationale. The verb zēteite {ζητεῖτε | zē-teî-te} ‘you seek’ takes the accusative dokimēn {δοκιμὴν | do-ki-mḗn} ‘proof, test’, depicting the Corinthians’ demand for validation. A genitive participial phrase, tou en emoi la-loûn-tos Khris-toû {τοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλούντος Χριστοῦ | toû en e-moi la-loûn-tos Khris-toû}, attributes the source of the proof to Christ speaking through Paul, functioning not as a genitive absolute but as a dependent genitive. The relative pronoun hos {ὃς | hos} introduces the clause hos eis humâs {ὃς εἰς ὑμᾶς | hos eis hy-mâs} stressing Christ’s orientation toward you, with asthenei {ἀσθενεῖ | as-the-neî} ‘is weak’ contrasted by dynatei {δυνατεῖ | dy-na-teî} ‘is powerful’ via the adversative alla, highlighting the antithesis, and the final prepositional phrase en hymin {ἐν ὑμῖν | en hy-mîn} shifts focus to the communal experience of divine power. The translation renders the participial construction as a finite clause (“Christ … speaks through me”) and reframes the relative statement into an independent assertion (“He is not weak toward you, but shows His power”), preserving both the causal relationship and the forceful contrast in idiomatic English. |