| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with kai {καὶ | kaí} connecting this remark to the preceding parable, leading into the main clause where epainesen {ἐπῄνεσεν | epāínēsen} “he praised” takes ho kyrios {ὁ κύριος | ho kýrios} as its subject and ton oikonomon tēs adikias {τὸν οἰκονόμον τῆς ἀδικίας | tón oikonomón tês adikías} as its object, the genitive tēs adikias qualifying the steward’s unethical role. The first hoti {ὅτι | hóti} introduces the causal clause phronimos epoiēsen {φρονίμως ἐποίησεν | phronímōs epoiḗsen}, where the adverb highlights the steward’s practical foresight rather than moral virtue. A second hoti introduces a comparative generalization: hoi huioi tou aionos toutou {οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου | hoí huiói toû aiônos toútou} “the sons of this age” form the subject of the comparative adjective phronimoteroi {φρονιμώτεροι | phronimṓteroi}, with hyper plus the accusative phrase tous huious tou phōtos {τοὺς υἱοὺς τοῦ φωτὸς | toús huioús toû phōtós} establishing “than the sons of light.” The final prepositional phrase eis tēn genean tēn heauton {εἰς τὴν γενεὰν τὴν ἑαυτῶν | eis tḕn geneán tḕn heautṓn} delimits the scope of this cunning, and the verb eisin {εἰσιν | eísin} at the close provides an emphatic assertion of the comparison. In translation, the repeated hoti-clauses are rendered as “because” and “for” to reflect their causal and explanatory functions, and the final phrase is idiomatically expressed to preserve its domain nuance. |