| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence opens with ἐὰν μή {ean mē | eàn mē} ‘if not’ plus the present subjunctive μένῃ {μένῃ | me-nê} ‘remains,’ forming a general warning that is open-ended rather than time-specific. The indefinite τις {τις | tis} ‘anyone’ broadens the scope, while ἐν ἐμοί {ἐν ἐμοί | en e-moí} ‘in Me’ marks the sphere of union and dependence. The aorist passives ἐβλήθη {ἐβλήθη | e-blḗ-thē} ‘was thrown’ and ἐξηράνθη {ἐξηράνθη | ex-ē-rán-thē} ‘withered’ present the rejection and decay as decisive outcomes, and ὡς τὸ κλῆμα {ὡς τὸ κλῆμα | hōs to klē-ma} ‘like the branch’ keeps the vineyard image concrete. The plural presents συνάγουσιν {συνάγουσιν | sy-ná-gou-sin} and βάλλουσιν {βάλλουσιν | bál-lou-sin} shift the action from the isolated branch to the handling of gathered branches, and the final singular καίεται {καίεται | kaí-e-tai} ‘is burned’ can naturally be represented in English as a collective plural, preserving the force of the image without ambiguity. |