| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The main verb homologō {ὁμολογῶ | ho-mo-lo-gō} ‘I confess’ functions as the primary assertion, introducing Paul’s direct address with the dative pronoun soi {σοι | soi} ‘to you’ and the demonstrative touto {τοῦτό | tou-tó} ‘this’. The conjunction hóti {ὅτι | hó-ti} ‘that’ signals a content clause. The phrase katá tēn hodón {κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν | ka-tá tēn ho-dón} ‘in accordance with the Way’ defines the guiding principle of Paul’s life, linked by the relative clause hēn légousin haíresin {ἣν λέγουσιν αἵρεσιν | hēn lé-gou-sin haí-re-sin} ‘which they call a sect’. The adverb hoútōs {οὕτως | hoú-tōs} ‘thus’ connects to latreúō tō patrōîō theō {λατρεύω τῷ πατρῴῳ θεῷ | la-treú-ō tō pa-trō-í-ō the-ō} ‘I serve the ancestral God’, where the dative marks the object of cultic service. The participle pisteúōn {πιστεύων | pis-teú-ōn} ‘believing’ qualifies his service and governs two coordinated dative objects—pásin tois katá tòn nómon {πᾶσι τοῖς κατὰ τὸν νόμον | pâ-si toîs ka-tá tón nó-mon} ‘all that is according to the Law’ and tois en tois prophḗtais gegramménois {τοῖς ἐν τοῖς προφήταις γεγραμμένοις | toîs en toîs pro-phē-tais ge-gram-mé-nois} ‘what is written in the prophets’. The perfect passive participle underscores the enduring authority of the prophetic texts, and the coordination of Law and Prophets frames Paul’s comprehensive fidelity to Scripture. |