| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the connective kai {καί | kaí} linking this scene to the preceding narrative. The aorist passive participle anamnestheis {ἀναμνησθείς | anamnestheís} functions as a circumstantial participle, indicating prior action (“after he remembered” or “when he remembered”) that provides the background for the main verb. The subject is marked by the articular proper name ho Petros {ὁ Πέτρος | ho Pétros}, and the main verb legei {λέγει | légei} is a historical present, a common narrative device that portrays the past event with vivid immediacy. The dative pronoun autō {αὐτῷ | autô} marks the indirect object, the One to whom Peter speaks. Direct discourse follows, introduced without a verb of saying marker in Greek because legei already precedes. Within the quotation, rhabbi {ῥαββί | rhabbí} is a vocative title of respect, and ide {ἴδε | íde} is an aorist imperative used as an interjection, “look!” The nominative phrase hē sukē {ἡ συκῆ | hē sykê} is further specified by the relative clause hēn katērasō {ἣν κατηράσω | hḕn katērásō}, where hēn is the object of the verb “you cursed,” linking this fig tree to the earlier prophetic action. The final verb exērantai {ἐξήρανται | exḗrantai} is perfect passive, expressing a completed process with ongoing result (“has withered” and remains so). In English, the participial structure is preserved in the formal rendering (“having remembered”) to reflect the temporal nuance, while the dynamic version uses a finite verb (“remembered”) for smoother contemporary style. The historical present legei is retained as “says” in the formal translation to mirror the narrative vividness, and rendered “said” in the dynamic version for natural storytelling. The relative clause and perfect aspect are carefully maintained in both, so the link between Jesus’ prior curse and the present, enduring state of the fig tree remains clear. |