| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the historical present legei {λέγει | lé-gei} “he says,” a narrative present that creates immediacy. The dative autō {αὐτῷ | au-tôi} “to him” precedes the subject Petros {Πέτρος | Pé-tros}, delaying the identification of the speaker for effect. The double negative Ou mē {Οὐ μὴ | Ou mḕ} governs the aorist subjunctive nipsēs {νίψῃς | ní-psēs}, forming an emphatic prohibition: “you will never wash.” The phrase eis ton aiōna {εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα | eis tòn ai-ô-na} extends the temporal scope to “for all time.” The narrative shift to apekrithē {ἀπεκρίθη | a-pe-krí-thē} “he answered” introduces Jesus’ reply, where the third-class condition Ean mē {Ἐὰν μὴ | E-an mḕ} plus the aorist subjunctive nipsō {νίψω | ní-psō} sets a scenario of potential refusal: “Unless I wash you.” The apodosis in present indicative ouk echeis {οὐκ ἔχεις | ouk é-kheis} expresses the consequence of non-cleansing, with meros {μέρος | mé-ros} “part, share” and the prepositional phrase metʼ emou {μετʼ ἐμοῦ | met e-moû} indicating relational participation. The translation preserves the emphasis of the negative constructions and the logical link between the washing and fellowship. |