| 42. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the participle legon {λέγων | légōn} ‘saying,’ which functions circumstantially to introduce the lament as direct speech. The conjunction hoti {ὅτι | hóti} ‘that’ marks the beginning of the reported content. A past contrary-to-fact condition is introduced by ei {Εἰ | Eí} ‘if’ with the aorist indicative egnōs {ἔγνως | égnōs} ‘you had known,’ implying the addressee did not in fact know. The phrase en tē hēmérā taútē {ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ | en tē hēmérā taútē} ‘on this day’ situates the lost opportunity at a specific moment. The emphatic kai sy {καὶ σὺ | kaí sú} ‘even you’ intensifies the personal address. The accusative phrase ta pros eirēnēn {τὰ πρὸς εἰρήνην | tà pròs eirḗnēn} ‘the things for peace’ uses pros with the accusative to indicate orientation toward peace. The adverbial contrast nun de {νῦν δὲ | nûn dè} ‘but now’ signals a shift to the present result, where the passive ekrybe {ἐκρύβη | ekrýbē} ‘have been hidden’ depicts completed concealment and the prepositional phrase apo ophthalmōn sou {ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν σου | apó ophthalmō̂n sou} ‘from your eyes’ frames this as a loss of perception. |