| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence opens with the temporal clause hotan {ὅταν | hó-tan} ‘whenever,’ which frames the statement as an open-ended future contingency and expects the subjunctive akousete {ἀκούσητε | a-koú-sē-te} ‘you hear.’ The paired objects polemous kai akatastasias {πολέμους καὶ ἀκαταστασίας | po-lé-mous kai a-ka-ta-sta-sí-as} ‘wars and disturbances’ broaden the warning from armed conflict to wider social instability. The prohibition mē ptoēthēte {μὴ πτοηθῆτε | mḕ pto-ē-thê-te} ‘do not be terrified’ directly answers the threat of fear and functions as a guard against panic at the moment of hearing. Dei {δεῖ | deî} ‘it is necessary’ introduces a causal explanation, and tauta genesthai {ταῦτα γενέσθαι | taû-ta ge-né-sthai} ‘these things to happen’ presents the upheavals as events that must occur before the climax. Prōton {πρῶτον | prô-ton} ‘first’ marks sequence and priority. The adversative allʼ {ἀλλʼ | allʼ} ‘but’ sharply turns the sentence toward the final qualification, while ouk eutheōs to telos {οὐκ εὐθέως τὸ τέλος | ouk eu-thé-ōs to té-los} ‘not immediately the end’ is a compressed conclusion that places the timing adverb before the noun phrase for emphasis, preserving the contrast between necessary preliminary troubles and the delayed consummation. |