John 17:9 — ExegesisTAB

The verse is organized around a repeated petition formula. The fronted subject egō {ἐγὼ | egṓ} ‘I’ makes Jesus’ own voice emphatic, and peri {περὶ | perí} ‘concerning’ governs the object of His request. The repetition of erōtō {ἐρωτῶ | erōtô} ‘I ask, I pray’ before and after the negation creates a sharp contrast: the prayer is for the disciples, not for the world, and the adversative alla {ἀλλὰ | allà} ‘but’ marks the decisive turn to the true focus of intercession. The relative phrase hōn dedōkas moi {ὧν δέδωκάς μοι | hôn dédōkás moi} ‘whom You have given to Me’ centers the Father’s prior gift, with dedōkas {δέδωκάς | dédōkás} in the perfect tense presenting a completed act whose result still stands. The closing hoti soi eisin {ὅτι σοί εἰσιν | hóti soí eisin} ‘because they are Yours’ supplies the ground for the request; the dative soi {σοί | soí} ‘to You’ functions as a possession idea, so the final clause identifies their belonging as the reason Jesus prays for them. The English renderings preserve this flow by keeping the contrastive structure intact while making the prayer language natural and readable.