| 41. Linguistic Exegesis The main verb diercheto {διήρχετο | diḗr-khe-to} ‘was passing through’ is in the imperfect middle indicative, portraying an ongoing journey rather than a single event. The postpositive conjunction de {δὲ | dè} ‘and, but’ links this clause to the preceding narrative. The coordinated accusative objects ten Surian {τὴν Συρίαν | tḕn Su-rí-an} ‘the Syrian province’ and ten Kilikian {τὴν Κιλικίαν | tḕn Ki-li-kí-an} ‘the Cilician province’ specify the regions traversed, with repeated articles adding emphasis to each area. The nominative participle episterizon {ἐπιστηρίζων | e-pi-stē-rí-zōn} ‘strengthening’ agrees with the implicit subject “he” and functions as a circumstantial participle describing concurrent action. Its object tas ekklesias {τὰς ἐκκλησίας | tàs ek-klḗ-sí-as} ‘the churches’ identifies the local assemblies benefiting from his ministry. Greek places the participial phrase after the geographical objects, and the English renderings preserve this order while using finite verbal forms (“strengthening,” “helping”) to convey the continuous supportive activity. |