| 6. Linguistic Exegesis In 2 Corinthians 13:6 the main verb elpizo {ἐλπίζω | el-pí-zō} ‘I hope’ expresses Paul’s confident expectation. The postpositive conjunction de {δὲ | dè} signals a transition from his previous argument. The first hoti {ὅτι | hó-ti} introduces a content clause with the future middle indicative gnosesthe {γνώσεσθε | gnṓ-se-sthe} ‘you will come to know’, indicating an experiential realization. A second hoti {ὅτι | hó-ti} introduces the content of their future knowledge: the emphatic pronoun hemeis {ἡμεῖς | hē-meîs} ‘we ourselves’ as subject, followed by the negation ouk {οὐκ | ouk} ‘not’ before the copula esmen {ἐσμὲν | es-mèn} ‘we are’, and the predicate adjective adokimoi {ἀδόκιμοι | a-dó-ki-moi} ‘disqualified’. The strong negation and the judicial-testing metaphor of adokimoi echo the theme of examination in the surrounding context, and the stacked hoti-clauses are mirrored in English by the double “that…that.” |