| 48. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence begins with kai {καὶ | kaì} “and” followed by the emphatic negation oukh {οὐχ | oukh} “not,” introducing the imperfect heuriskon {εὕρισκον | heú-ris-kon} “they were finding,” which conveys an ongoing, unresolved search. The phrase to ti poiēsōsin {τὸ τί ποιήσωσιν | tò tí poi-ḗ-sō-sin} forms an indirect question with the accusative neuter article plus interrogative pronoun and the aorist subjunctive, indicating uncertainty about possible courses of action. Gar {γὰρ | gàr} “for” marks the causal explanation, with ho laos hapas {ὁ λαὸς ἅπας | ho la-ós há-pas} “all the people” as the subject, hapas intensifying the inclusivity of the crowd. The imperfect middle exekremato {ἐξεκρέματο | ek-se-kré-ma-to} “was hanging” metaphorically depicts eager attachment, governed by the genitive autou {αὐτοῦ | au-toû} referring back to Jesus. The participle akouōn {ἀκούων | a-koú-ōn} “listening” agrees with laos and functions as a circumstantial participle of manner, describing how the people were attached. English translations keep the main clause structure and render the participle with “as they listened” to reflect its ongoing sense, while preserving the causal link introduced by gar. |