| 19. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with egnō {ἔγνω | é-gnō} before Iesous {Ἰησοῦς | Iē-soûs}, a marked verb-first order that foregrounds Jesus’ awareness. The first hoti {ὅτι | hó-ti} introduces the content of what He knew: ēthelon auton erōtan {ἤθελον αὐτὸν ἐρωτᾶν | ḗ-the-lon au-tón e-rō-tân}, where the imperfect plus infinitive presents an ongoing intention to question Him. The narrative then advances with kai eipen autois {καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς | kaí eî-pen au-toîs}, a standard speech-introduction that shifts from inner perception to spoken response. Within the quotation, peri toutou {Περὶ τούτου | Pe-rí toú-tou} is fronted for topical emphasis, and zēteite met’ allēlōn {ζητεῖτε μετʼ ἀλλήλων | zē-TEI-te met al-LĒ-lōn} depicts an active reciprocal exchange, not a private thought. The second hoti {ὅτι | hó-ti} is best read as explanatory or causal in this setting, introducing the reason for the disciples’ discussion. The repeated mikron {μικρόν | mi-KRON} frames two brief intervals, while ou theoreite me {οὐ θεωρεῖτέ με | ou the-ō-REI-te me} and opsesthe me {ὄψεσθέ με | OP-ses-the me} create a sharp contrast between present non-seeing and promised future sight. The translation keeps the statement form of the Greek, preserves the repeated time marker, and renders the temporal contrast in natural English without turning the line into a direct question. |