| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the relative pronoun hous {οὓς | hoûs} ‘whom’, introducing a relative clause that refers back to the previously mentioned missionaries. The perfect middle verb hypodedektai {ὑποδέδεκται | hypo-dé-dek-tai} ‘has received’ presents Jason’s hospitality as a completed act with continuing relevance, marking him as complicit in the eyes of the accusers. The discourse then moves to the main accusation with the demonstrative plus adjective houtoi pantes {οὗτοι πάντες | hoû-toi pán-tes} ‘these all’ as the subject of the present indicative prassousi {πράσσουσι | prás-sou-si} ‘are acting’, highlighting an ongoing pattern of behavior rather than a single event. The preposition apenanti {ἀπέναντι | a-pé-nan-ti} ‘against’ governs the genitive phrase ton dogmaton Kaisaros {τῶν δογμάτων Καίσαρος | tôn dog-má-ton Kaí-sa-ros}, framing the charge as direct opposition to the official decrees of Caesar. The accusative phrase basilea heteron {βασιλέα ἕτερον | ba-si-lé-a hé-te-ron} functions as the predicate accusative within the content clause introduced by the participial construction legontes einai Iesoun {λέγοντες εἶναι Ἰησοῦν | lé-gon-tes eî-nai Iē-soûn}, “saying that Jesus is another king.” Here einai {εἶναι | eî-nai} takes Iesoun {Ἰησοῦν | Iē-soûn} as its subject accusative and basilea heteron as its predicate accusative, clearly identifying Jesus with the rival kingship that supposedly violates Caesar’s supremacy. In the formal reconstruction, the relative clause is preserved at the front to mirror Greek syntax and maintain the forensic feel of the accusation, while lexical choices such as “decrees” and “are acting” retain the legal and durative nuances. In the dynamic reconstruction, the implied object of hous is made explicit as “them,” and prassousi plus apenanti ton dogmaton is rendered as “are breaking Caesar’s laws” to communicate more directly the notion of legal transgression in contemporary language, while still preserving the core structure of a charge that centers on the competing claims of Jesus and Caesar as king. |