ἁμαρτωλῷ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 ἁμαρτωλῷ

   ha-mar-tō-LÔ

   sinner
2. sentence🔊 ὁ δὲ τελώνης μακρόθεν ἑστὼς οὐκ ἤθελεν οὐδὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐπᾶραι εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν ἀλλʼ ἔτυπτε τὸ στῆθος αὐτοῦ λέγων Ὁ θεός ἱλάσθητί μοι τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ

   ho de te-LO-nês ma-KRO-then he-STÔS ouk Ê-the-len ou-DE tous oph-thal-MOUS e-PA-rai eis ton ou-ra-NON all E-typ-te to STÊ-thos au-TOU LE-gōn ho the-OS hi-LA-sthê-TI moi tôi ha-mar-tō-LÔ

   the but tax collector from afar standing not was willing not even the eyes to lift up to the heaven but was striking the chest of him saying O God be merciful to me to the sinner

Exegesis

The aorist passive imperative hilastheti {ἱλάσθητί | hilásthēti} ‘be propitiated, be merciful’ expresses an urgent, once-for-all appeal for divine favor, while moi {μοι | moi} ‘to me’ and tō hamartolō {τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ | tō hamartōlō} ‘the sinner’ combine to make his confession intensely personal and exclusive, as if he sees himself above all as the sinner in need of mercy. The syntax contrasts inner humility and continuous penitence with the earlier self-exalting prayer, a contrast preserved in translation by maintaining the imperfect aspect and explicit self-identification as “the sinner.”