| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the adverb tote {τότε | tó-te} “then,” marking a new step in the narrative sequence. The subject ho Festos {ὁ Φῆστος | ho Phês-tos} is immediately followed by the circumstantial participle sullalesas {συλλαλήσας | syl-la-lé-sas} “having conferred,” which is temporally prior to the main verb apekrithē {ἀπεκρίθη | a-pe-krí-thē} “he answered.” The prepositional phrase meta tou sumbouliou {μετὰ τοῦ συμβουλίου | me-tà tou sym-bou-lí-ou} specifies the group with whom the deliberation occurred, highlighting that Festus’s response is not impulsive but consultative. Direct speech follows the verb of speaking without an introductory particle, heightening immediacy. Within the quotation, Kaisara {Καίσαρα | Kaí-sa-ra} stands first for emphasis, twice framing the legal action: epikeklēsai {ἐπικέκλησαι | e-pi-ké-klē-sai} “you have appealed” in the perfect tense underscores a completed, binding legal step, while poreusē {πορεύσῃ | po-reú-sē} “you shall go” in the future middle indicates a determined outcome that directly follows from that appeal. The English renderings preserve the sequence of deliberation then decision, and maintain the rhetorical weight of repeating “Caesar” at both the basis and result of the judgment. |