| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse consists of two parallel conditional-like statements that use non-standard conditional structures. The first begins with the combination pas ho pesōn {πᾶς ὁ πεσὼν | pâs ho pe-sṓn}, an articular aorist participle functioning substantivally to mean “everyone who falls,” presenting a general case rather than a specific event. The prepositional phrase epʼ ekeinon ton lithon {ἐπʼ ἐκεῖνον τὸν λίθον | ep' e-keî-non tón lí-thon} specifies the direction of the fall “upon that stone,” with the demonstrative ekeinon giving deictic emphasis to the stone already identified in the preceding context. The main verb synthlasthēsetai {συνθλασθήσεται | syn-thlas-thḗ-se-tai} is a future passive, marking the inevitable result for the subject: “will be broken to pieces.” The second clause begins with the prepositional relative ephʼ hon {ἐφʼ ὃν | eph' hon} “upon whom,” shifting the focus from the one who falls on the stone to the one upon whom the stone may fall. The sequence dʼ an pesē {δʼ ἂν πέσῃ | d' án pé-sē} combines the postpositive adversative conjunction dʼ with the modal particle an and the aorist subjunctive pesē, forming a generalizing potential construction, “should fall” or “may fall,” typical of indefinite relative clauses. The future active likmēsei {λικμήσει | lik-mḗ-sei} portrays the stone as the active agent that “will crush” the person. The symmetrical structure (falling on the stone versus the stone falling on someone), with matching futures, heightens the warning: whether one collides with the stone or is struck by it, the outcome is destructive, with the second scenario intensifying the severity. |