| 23. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the fronted demonstrative touto {τοῦτο | toû-to} ‘this’, which, combined with the inferential particle oun {οὖν | oûn} ‘therefore’, links the instruction to the prior discussion and gives it a sense of consequent obligation. The aorist imperative poieson {ποίησον | poí-e-son} ‘do’ presents a single, decisive action. The relative clause ho soi legomen {ὅ σοι λέγομεν | hó soi lé-go-men} ‘what we say to you’ functions as the direct object of the imperative, with ho referring back to touto in a content sense, creating a compact command. In the second clause, eisin hemin {εἰσὶν ἡμῖν | ei-sín hē-mîn} uses a dative of advantage to convey possession (“we have”), followed by andres tessares {ἄνδρες τέσσαρες | án-dres tés-sa-res} ‘four men’. The participial phrase euchen echontes aph heauton {εὐχὴν ἔχοντες ἀφʼ ἑαυτῶν | eu-khḗn é-khon-tes aph he-au-tō̂n} modifies andres and specifies that these men are characterized by a vow from themselves, with aph heauton marking its self-imposed nature. In English this is best rendered with a relative clause (“who have a vow upon them”) or a participial construction (“who are under a vow they have taken upon themselves”) to preserve both clarity and the voluntary, self-imposed character of the vow. |