| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with legō {λέγω | lḗgō} ‘I say’ followed by hūmīn {ὑμῖν | hūmīn} ‘to you’, forming an emphatic disclosure formula that underscores the importance of what follows. The conjunction hóti {ὅτι | hóti} ‘that’ introduces a content clause whose main verb is the future poiḗsei {ποιήσει | poiḗsei} ‘he will do’, indicating a certain future action. The object phrase tḕn ekdikḗsin autṓn {τὴν ἐκδίκησιν αὐτῶν | tḕn ekdikḗsin autṓn} ‘their justice’ presents justice as owed to the afflicted, with autṓn as a possessive genitive. The prepositional phrase en tákhei {ἐν τάχει | en tákhei} ‘in quickness’ modifies the verb, stressing the swiftness of the response. The adversative particle plḗn {πλὴν | plḗn} ‘but’ shifts the focus from promised vindication to an eschatological inquiry. The title ho huiós tou anthrṓpou {ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | ho huiós tou anthrṓpou} ‘the Son of Man’ functions as the subject of the participial clause elthṓn {ἐλθὼν | elthṓn} ‘having come,’ with the interrogative particle ā́ra {ἆρα | ā́ra} introducing the rhetorical question heurḗsei {εὑρήσει | heurḗsei} ‘will he find.’ The object tḕn pístin {τὴν πίστιν | tḕn pístin} ‘the faith’ with epì tês gês {ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς | epì tês gês} ‘on the earth’ signals a universal scope, rendered formally as ‘among the people of the earth’ and dynamically as ‘in the world’ to align with each translation’s idiom. The two sentences mirror the original contrast between assured justice and uncertain faith at His coming. |