| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The aorist participle idon {Ἰδὼν | I-dōn} ‘seeing’ introduces a temporal clause for the main verb eipen {εἶπεν | eî-pen} ‘He said.’ The postpositive conjunction de {δὲ | dè} connects this statement to the preceding narrative. The articular pronoun auton {αὐτὸν | au-tón} precedes the subject ho Iesous {ὁ Ἰησοῦς | ho Iē-soûs}, foregrounding the person observed. The exclamatory phrase pos dyskolōs {Πῶς δυσκόλως | Pōs dys-kó-lōs} expresses amazement at the difficulty. The substantive participle hoi ta chremata echontes {οἱ τὰ χρήματα ἔχοντες | hoi tà khrḗ-ma-ta é-khon-tes} defines a group by their wealth. The prepositional phrase eis tēn basileian tou theou {εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ | eis tēn ba-si-léi-an toû the-oû} marks direction toward God’s reign. The present middle/passive indicative eisporeuontai {εἰσπορεύονται | eis-po-réu-on-tai} underscores the general impossibility of such entrance. In English, the participle is rendered with “when” to preserve narrative flow and emphasis. |